Chapter 780: Sneak Attack

Liora extended her Dragon claw, using her razor-sharp nails to split the massive planet into two.

Then, she reached with her other claw into the wreckage and retrieved a small piece of wood from inside.

As it landed in her palm, Liora’s consciousness stirred.

She unraveled the seal inside layer by layer before devouring the souls contained within.

Instantly, the Evolution Points on her System Panel surged once again.

This was the fifth piece of wood Liora had collected by following the strange calls echoing in her mind.

Just like the first one, all the others hid a soul prison, where numerous Ancient Devil-level souls were sealed.

After devouring them all, converting them into Evolution Points, and using those points to fuel her improvement, Liora’s strength had undergone major changes.

...

[True Name: Liora Veythalis Dranthera Vexira...]

[Rank: Ancient Devil (Antiquity)]

[Race: Devil of the End (Origin Sea Prototype, Will of the World)]

[Throne: Ending, Antiquity, Dragon, Time, Space, Life, Death...]

[Imprinting: 12.1m]

[Evolution Points: 0]

...

Liora’s "road" was no longer measured in centimeters, but in meters. Even then, it had reached double digits.

In practical terms, her timeline now stretched back hundreds of thousands of years, containing experiences of several "reincarnations".

Liora could feel herself getting closer and closer to advancing.

Under normal circumstances, Ancient Devils had no way of knowing how far they were from becoming Primordial Devils.

There was no fixed threshold; it depended on each individual.

Some required a timeline of millions of years. Others only a few hundred thousand.

Liora was no exception to this rule.

Yet she could feel that once her Imprinting reached 100 meters, she would trigger an advancement.

Her True Spirit would then be imbued with a trace of Primordial power, allowing her to take another step beyond Antiquity.

"Without the Land of Origin, it would have taken me centuries to advance, even with the help of the Evolution System. Yet now, I’ve already covered more than a tenth of the distance."

The Land of Origin had played a major role in this transformation. Or rather, the fragments of the Chaos God were what had improved her the most.

At the same time, the potential of this opportunity had yet to be depleted.

So far, she had found and collected only five of these fragments.

If she found them all and devoured the souls sealed within them, wouldn’t she be able to reach the Absolute Beginning stage? Perhaps taking a step beyond that was also possible.

This filled Liora with anticipation.

Yet at the same time, she felt somewhat apprehensive.

"For mere fragments to contain such power and seal Ancient Devils, the Chaos God they belonged to must have been incredibly powerful when it was alive."

"At the very least, it must have been a Prince of the Demon World. And even among beings of that level, it couldn’t have been weak."

Subconsciously, Liora recalled the images she had seen at the entrance.

Remembering how a sea of creatures, including Ancient Devils and Princes of the Demon World, had worshipped the giant tree, she couldn’t help making a few guesses.

Perhaps the Chaos God had surpassed the Prince of the Demon World level, reaching the theoretical Devil Emperor stage that no one had ever attained.

Thinking this, Liora placed even greater importance on the wooden fragments.

She had already studied them during this time, using the journey as an opportunity. Unfortunately, she had found nothing useful through them.

At most, she had discovered that the fragments could fuse together, becoming more "complete." However, that fusion brought little change.

Perhaps she needed to fuse more fragments to bring forth a transformation.

After devouring the sealed souls and merging the fragment into the now-larger piece of wood, Liora followed the call in her mind and sped up once again.

A few days later, she found herself hovering above a vast forest.

It was truly vast, stretching throughout an entire continent. Massive trees larger than mountains were everywhere, while the entire forest looked both lively and desolate.

Liora didn’t observe the forest for long.

Her gaze immediately pierced through the countless towering trees, landing on the forest’s center.

There, she sensed a familiar aura.

Soon, she came face to face with what she was seeking.

A piece of wood, larger than any of the fragments Liora had found previously.

This difference had brought about some changes.

Unlike the other fragments, this one had influenced its surroundings. Its aura had spread across the continent, giving rise to this vast forest.

In a sense, every tree on the continent was its descendant.

Seeing this, Liora felt no fear. If anything, she was pleased.

The larger the Chaos God fragment, the more souls it would contain. Likewise, merging it with the fragments in her possession would bring greater changes to the combined piece.

Thinking this, she didn’t hesitate. She reached out and grabbed the fragment through the air.

At once, her Dragon claw pierced through the chaotic flow of time, reaching the fragment and pulling it toward her.

It was heavy, much heavier than an entire continent. Yet Liora felt little resistance.

Soon, the fragment began to move.

The changes were immediate. The surrounding trees instantly withered, clearly having lost the source of their power.

Yet just as everything seemed to be going smoothly, Liora’s eyes narrowed.

A white beam shot from her pupils, striking the space beside her claw.

A strange scene soon unfolded. It was as though an invisible veil that had concealed the world from seeing what lay beyond it had been abruptly lifted.

An Ancient Devil appeared beside her claw, seemingly ready to strike at Liora’s hand.

Realizing that her figure had been exposed, the Devil’s eyes flashed with surprise.

"No wonder you dare to covet the Lord’s treasures. It turns out you have a reason to be confident. Truly worthy of your reputation as the Dragon Devil..." she whispered.

Yet despite her words, the female Devil didn’t stop moving.

A giant bone blade appeared in her hand. She swung it toward Liora’s dragon scales, aiming to sever her claw.

At the same time, taking advantage of the brief opening, she reached out, attempting to snatch the wooden fragment away.