Chapter 426: Chapter 396: One Sword (3/3)
In the heart of Night Snake, this was hardly a technique at all, but rather a maneuver that simply took advantage of the conflict between Fiery Flame Land and The Empire and acted accordingly.
In his mind, the perfect experimental field would be to build a huge Cloning Base, equipped with several memory modification masters similar to Yila, where they could clone a related Human when needed, then implant false memories and courage, false perseverance, spirit, and virtues, before conducting various relevant experiments to see if those false âmemoriesâ could stimulate ârealâ Spirit Energy.
If it were possible, it would prove that Spirit Energy and the soul were not sacred and inviolable entities but rather an acquired existence that could be easily artificially created and didnât even require the extremely low success rate of catalyzing like an Artificial Spirit User.
If not, they would simply continue experimenting. And such Artificial Humans as experimental subjects could offer better quality control, much like those expensive lab rats; expensive, but indeed meaningful.
This was the technology that could truly benefit Humans!
As for now, they could only make do with refugees.
Night Snake didnât care about the lives of refugees. Or rather, not many Sublimators or Spirit Energy Users cared about such trivial matters.
They were just Ordinary people whose lives or deaths didnât matter, and the local Supervisory Court wouldnât record these boring missing person cases, so there was no need to be concerned.
And as for the Baronâs family...
Hey, isnât the Chosen One still alive?
Not to mention that resurrection itself was also a very important experiment. Comparing the Spirit Energy Fluctuations of the Chosen One before death, after death, and after resurrection provided first-hand, important research material!
The plan was nearing its end, and Night Snake had been looking forward to seeing what would happen after Baron Leyan successfully resurrected his children with those three test subjectsâresurrected beings would represent the conquest of the boundary between life and death by Humans, what a tremendous achievement that would be, bringing him one step closer to Logos!
But now...the test subject was gone.
"Whatâs going on?"
Night Snake no longer had the patience to listen to Sister Huai Guangâs irrelevant conjectures. He was very clear that Baron Leyan would definitely not be near his own territory; something abnormal must have occurred, otherwise, he would never allow this little girl to talk nonsense in his territory.
Soon, he thought of a possibility.
In the night sky, with a flip amid the wind and rainâthe Wind Element Origin replaced the wing membranes of the original flying creature, allowing him to soar rapidly toward the vicinity of Solitary Flame Peak.
If it were that stubborn Noble Baron Leyan...now, there was only one place he could be.
That was the Barrier Lake area where his wife and children had died.
Soon, he arrived at the Third Dam Lake around Solitary Flame Peak.
And to Night Snakeâs surprise, as he approached, he sensed a tremendous battle taking place in the distance, with two Second Power Level Sublimators engaging in a fierce fight, each exerting all their potential to the fullest.
Ultimately, the more familiar Source Quality Fluctuation, that is, Baron Leyanâs, lost by a hair and began to burn out quickly, dissipating.
âHow did he die so quickly? Was their fight that intense?
"Damn, who interfered? Will there be a mishap with the experimental subject?!"
However, after such an intense battle, whoever won would not be in good shape and could be taken advantage of!
With this anger and anxiety, Night Snake accelerated again, arriving in the vicinity of the battlefield.
It was somewhat unexpected that the person fighting Baron Leyan turned out to be an Imperial Knight.
The silver Alchemist Armor was covered with a layer of solid ice, with a few scratches proving he wasnât much injured, and the fully enclosed helmet concealed the face, with only two silvery-aquamarine eyes twinkling.
âA Spirit Energy User?
Night Snake pondered; if so, the loss wouldnât be particularly great. A Second Power Level Spirit Energy User was also a rare experimental material, especially one that could defeat Baron Leyan and his Spirit Energy child in a frontal fight, proving the opponentâs strength.
He could see that Baron Leyanâs body had fallen into the mud beside him, his neck cut open by a Longswordâbut the Alchemist Knightâs Side Sword was also broken.
The battle between the two had been so fierce and evenly matched.
"What a pity."
Night Snake looked regretfully at the body of Baron Leyan and the dissipating souls beside him: "All good materials; why waste them privately? The recovery will be greatly reduced, and even the souls of the Chosen One would likely suffer irreversible damage."
"Luckily the plan is almost complete, and the final resurrection doesnât matter. The theory is already there; itâs just the icing on the cake."
Thinking this, he stepped forward, appearing before the Alchemist Knight, and Night Snake naturally said: "This Knight."
"I am from the Spirit Wisdom Institute, the Deputy Head of the Spirit Energy Reconstruction Department, Solas Base. I am very grateful to you for killing this reprehensibly vile Noble. According to our investigation..."
He spun these lies, indistinguishable from the truth to Ordinary people, and subtly approached the âvery tiredâ Knight.
"Yes, itâs you... Spirit Wisdom Institute? As expected, the teacher was not wrong years ago; everyone in the Spirit Wisdom Institute is a madman who chases knowledge at the expense of humanity."
This Knight seemed to be muttering something to himself, probably due to extreme fatigue resulting in breathlessness.
Quick now, soon to be within striking range...
Thinking this, Night Snake had already drawn several vials of Alchemy toxin from his sleeves. With his own Wind Attribute Origin, he only needed a moment to release them, transforming into highly poisonous corrosive wind columns.
Facing such a toxin, even a Sublimator at their peak of Second Power Level would be greatly affected, let alone an exhausted one.
But obviously, Night Snake got many things wrong.
Many, many things.
So, the moment he drew near, the silver Knight lifted his left hand.
There, the âbroken swordâ that had only a hilt left suddenly grew a slender blade that shimmered with a dark golden edge.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Nearly substantial Earth Element Origin burst forth explosively under the drive of Aether Crystals, mixed with layer upon layer of Water Element Origin, transforming into a heavy yet unstoppable Sword Intent like a tsunami mudslide.
Night Snakeâs eyes widened in shock; he couldnât understand why the Knight before him still possessed such an overwhelming Origin Quality, nor why he could suddenly activate both Earth and Water Element Origins at the same timeâyes, there were inheritances of dual or multiple Element Origins, but before reaching the Complete Form, one could only major in one series!
But he had no time to think any further, only managing to roar as he drew his Side Sword from his waist, followed by triggering the fiercely toxic Alchemy bottle in his other hand, directing a bursting column of wind towards the silver Knight.
Alas, it was futile.
The edge of the Longsword, crafted from fine gold, generated a massive shockwave the moment it struck Night Snakeâs Side Sword, and the surrounding air was instantly blown away.
The ripple spread, lifting the surrounding mud, sand, wind, and frost; even the huge Cultivation Chambers in the distance shook from the shockwave, and the poison gas directly dispersed.
Bang! A giant fan-shaped shockwave left its mark on the ground, the earth cracked, and visible fissures tore through the soil and rocks. Meanwhile, Night Snake, after having his Side Sword smashedânot cutâwas sent flying backward more than ten meters.
"What, what kind of monster?!"
At this moment, Night Snake was terrified, even screaming, "How can you still have strength to spare?!"
"Who on earth are you?!"
Just now, if it werenât for the fact that he was also at the Second Energy Level and had great control over the Wind Attribute Origin, which allowed him to divert some of the terrifying impact, he would definitely have been smashed into the ground by the opponent, with his head buried into his chest cavity!
But the silver Knight clearly had no intention of answering his questions. Behind the helmet, a pair of silver-cyan eyes stared coldly and indifferently, even icily.
His eyes reflected the fleeing figure of Night Snake, followed by the full activation of the Frost Comet Skeleton behind him.
ââThe full force supplemented with Aether Crystals and the Ancient Dragon Heart Core.
In an instant, the humid summer weather at South Ridge came to a halt, and all the rainwater disappeared in a flash.
Then came an icy frost pervading the sky!
Boom!
Amidst a burst of icy blue arc light, the silver Knight raised his sword and swung again at the frantically fleeing Night Snake.
"Whatâs the use of mere brute force!"
Night Snake howled, incapable of predicting that a mission to find traces of Baron Leyan could spiral into such an unexpected turn.
This Knight whoâd suddenly appeared held power so immense it was like that of a monster; even Baron Leyan at full power likely couldnât withstand him head-on!
Yet even then, Night Snake was confident in his ability to escape! The Wind Attribute Origin swirling around his body fluctuated rapidly, creating a spiraling semi-solid vortex centered on his spine, which from the outside looked like a small tornado.
This high-pressure vortex could perfectly absorb part of the attackâs force, then channel it into the surrounding air, turning it into an even more ferocious wind, which he could use to zip away even fasterâa true art of flight, where the stronger his enemy, the faster he could escape!
He was a scholarâa researcherâwhy should he fight such a monster? He should escape immediately and then contact headquarters!
And amidst his screams, the Knightâs sword fell.
The immeasurably thick Earth Series Origin Quality bolstered the edge of the sword, breaking through Night Snakeâs high-pressure vortex. But just as Night Snake had anticipated, part of the force of the sword was absorbed by the vortex, making his speed that much faster.
However, soon he was filled with horror because as soon as the first wave of force had been slightly diverted, the swordâs edge kept transmitting an unceasing forceâit wasnât a one-off burst, but a relentless crumbling and quaking like an avalanche!
Boom!!!!
The intense Source Quality Vibration, using the purest brute force, broke through Night Snakeâs protective wind spiral before he could accelerate and slashed at his dark carapace armor.
ââThis armor, modeled after the Abyssal Dragon Ant Carapace, had defensive capabilities even surpassing my own Origin Quality...
Harboring this thought, Night Snake didnât even get to complete it before his expression dramatically changed. He already heard, or felt with his own body, the sound and vibration of the armor being destroyed, shattered by the direct impact of the swordâs edge.
Then came the sound of his own spine fracturing and collapsing.
Crack, Night Snakeâs waist went limp, and Ian continued with his sword stroke indifferently, causing the fleeing scholar from the Spirit Wisdom Institute to fall from mid-air, his body twisted and broken, lying distorted on the ground.
"Spare, spare my life, I am very... very useful..."
Blood oozed from his mouth and nose, and the strong Vitality of a Second Energy Level being kept Night Snake alive enough to speak vigorously, even after his waist, abdomen, and spine had been crushed by the blunt impact of the Edgeless Swordâs technique.
His helmet had rolled away, revealing a gaunt-faced, rather sinister-looking blond man crying and begging for mercy, "What do you want, what do you want to know, I can tell you anything..."
Crack.
Accompanied by a wave of bloody mist spreading in all directions, his head was crushed underfoot.
And the venomous Alchemy bottle tightly clutched in Night Snakeâs hand lost the chance to be opened, rolling away as his grip loosened.
With a single sword stroke and one kick, the last threat was eliminated. Ian turned his head to look at Baron Leyanâs body.
There, a fading blue Spirit Body was flickering light towards him.