Born in Blood

Chapter 389 Cold

It happened all at once.

Liam shot the giant ball of Chaos downward.

SHHHHH!

It shrieked as it entered the depths of the sandworm's circular mouth, lighting it as it fell all the way down.

The Abyssal Needles were much, much faster. It had to be, after Liam made dozens of improvements to it.

They hissed upwards through the air like streaks of umbral light, two of them slipping deep into the wyvern's mouth, while the other three aimed at its body.

Then came the carp's turn.

Tendrils emerged from Liam's back and curled around the punch, propelling Liam forward with all four Blades in hand, ripping through flesh and carving a nasty trail of grime.

Liam's Corruption had unique properties, in the sense that he had to constantly maintain contact with it.

He couldn't shoot it like Chaos or manipulate it in special ways like darkness, but the least he could do was stretch and extend it.

It worked like a charm.

The plague-like substance spread like tree roots into the rotting muscles, rendering it useless and unhealable.

Then, the Chaos inside the sandworm's maw exploded with a stifled but loud boom, causing it to jolt, then spasm and convulse back into the ground.

At the same time, the Abyssal Needles imploded and filled the Wyvern's body with condensed dark smoke and noxious fumes.

Due to that, its flight trajectory deviated, missing Liam by a few meters as it used its flames to clear away the noxious gas.

Simultaneously, the arcs of mental energy that Liam had conjured shot out in precise lines, cleaving apart the ethereal Abominations.

All of it happened in the span of four seconds, and all at the same time.

Like a stone skipping across a lake, Liam sprinted across the fish's rotten arm, slicing and dicing out entire chunks.

BOOM!

His ripping and tearing came to an abrupt stop when the carp's remaining arm shot at him from the side, sending him flying as he blocked with all four swords.

WHOOSH!

Crashing against a building, Liam groaned and used a Sanguine String and his tentacles to redirect himself to safety.

Looking at the three Zeniths' expressions, they were clearly in shock.

After all, that happened too fast!

Even a Zenith wouldn't survive in such a difficult situation.

Liam was backed into a corner from literally all sides!

The sandworm, the carp, the wyvern, the mental Abominations…

And yet, in a sure-death situation, he survived.

What the three didn't get was that this was a one-time ability.

Using Mind Edge again was dangerous.

Liam's mental energy was at 65%.

Using Mind Edge took at least 30% away.

If he used it again, his reflexes would not be as sharp, and the tides of battle would undoubtedly change.

But it wasn't over.

All three, the fish, the wyvern, and the sandworm were still alive.

The carp's right arm was dead.

The wyvern expelled most of the toxic fumes Liam had tainted it with, but most of its arms had been corroded off.

The sandworm was beneath the ground, but Liam could tell it was much slower compared to before.

The injuries they sustained cut deep.

The only thing Liam had successfully killed were the mental Abominations, but they weren't Rank 4.

They were mere Rank 3's used as a side attack.

'I need to get rid of the sandworm first.'

It was the most dangerous of them all.

Followed by the wyvern and the carp.

Every second they weren't engaging in battle, Liam's blood pumped out fresh ichor, and his wounds closed up.

Their eyes narrowed as they saw Liam's inhuman regeneration.

They couldn't let it continue!

This time, the carp and the wyvern made a straight beeline towards Liam.

The sandworm chased from beneath.

A direct charge!

Liam braced himself.

Darkness veiled him momentarily, then formed three different clones, each identical to him.

Merisa, Jayne and Erika simultaneously grimaced.

They didn't know which one was Liam!

To their blind eyes, they all looked the same!

At once, all four versions of Liam split apart.

But instead of running away, they charged straight ahead!

Liam needed to end this fast.

Due to the difference in numbers, playing cat and mouse would be helpful to the Imperialists, not him.

Thanks to its long body, the wyvern rammed into two Liam's at the same time, swallowing them.

Clones.

But upon a closer look, one could see a piece of corroded cloth holding together a brightly glowing red arm.

BOOOOOM!

A massive explosion shook the dome.

The wyvern was down and out.

But the carp remained!

And there were two Liam's left!

A 50% chance of landing on the real one!

The carp chose one at random.

It flitted through the air, landing on one and smashing it to bits and pieces with its bare fist.

…A clone!

Liam appeared behind its back, sticking an entire hand through its dense scales and injecting it with Corruption.

The ugly looking fish let out a gurgle, then spasmed and gently fell to the earth like a leaf from a tree.

…But unexpectedly, it came to life for a brief second, landed a punch straight to Liam's face, cracking a few teeth and breaking a bone or two, before finally dying.

Liam was caught off guard.

Blood sprayed everywhere.

His vision swam.

Just then, the giant sandworm beneath Liam's feet burst from the ground with unnatural speed.

Liam's eyes widened.

But the giant, circular maw had enveloped him, swallowing him whole, then snapping shut, before re-entering the ground.

Merisa heaved a long sigh, sweat trickling down her face.

Erika and Jayne also looked exhausted.

Controlling Abominations was no small thing.

It severely strained the body and mind simultaneously.

It was clear that neither of the three could continue for much longer.

"Just what was that… thing?" Erika asked, gasping for air. "I've never seen an—"

RUMBLE.

A cold feeling appeared in the three Imperialists' stomachs.

Tremors ran across the ground.

WHOOOM!

A moment later, the massive sandworm burst out of the earth, its stomach spasming wildly.

BOOM!

With a flash of red energy, its insides exploded in a spray of blood and viscera.

The three Imperialists were dumbstruck.

Covered in blood and guts, missing one arm and several teeth, Liam emerged from the sandworm's torso, a bright purple mass in his hands.

A moment later, he flicked it forward.