Chapter 238: True Form

Richard did not dare to underestimate this red ink.

Without hesitation, he immediately released his strongest shockwave in all directions.

Whoosh!

It forcefully pushed everything away—red ink, seawater, and all the tentacles binding him—completely clearing the surrounding area.

The octopus was quite startled by this, clearly not expecting Richard to possess shockwave-type power as well.

"Brat, it seems you’re not as weak as you look," it said before sending hundreds of other tentacles toward Richard.

Richard slightly narrowed his eyes, staring at the octopus’s eyes, which looked tiny compared to its massive body.

He knew he had to go all out. Even if he used everything he had, he still wouldn’t win, so there was no reason to hold back.

Through his eyes, locking onto the octopus’s gaze, he unleashed a Mind Attack that moved faster than anything else, reaching its mind in an instant.

Immediately, the octopus’s small eyes widened in shock.

All of its tentacles froze in place, and its aura weakened drastically—far more than Richard had expected.

Its strength had dropped by nearly two-thirds.

"So that’s how it is. Bloodline is bloodline—but this is a Mind Attack. No matter how powerful a bloodline is, it has nothing to do with the mind. If the mind is weak, it remains weak regardless of bloodline."

Realizing what had happened, Richard smiled.

At first, he thought he would only be able to reduce the octopus’s strength by around thirty percent, or even less.

"Am I overdoing it, Octopus?" Richard asked.

"Brat, what kind of evil technique is this?" the octopus replied.

Richard rolled his eyes at it being called an evil technique.

"Are you still going to say I’m weaker than that woman now?"

Richard could admit that he was weaker than Rebecca if he didn’t use Mind Attack.

But after using Mind Attack, how could he possibly be weaker?

Even so, he had to admit that Rebecca was truly extraordinary if her strength had been acknowledged by this octopus.

The octopus clearly wasn’t interested in discussing that matter. It focused instead on itself, as it was obviously suffering various disturbances from the Mind Attack.

It tried to continue sending out its tentacles, but only half of them responded. They were also noticeably slower, making them much easier for Richard to evade.

"It seems I really am overdoing it to you," Richard said as he dodged by shifting sideways.

The octopus kept trying to send its tentacles at him, but it failed to catch Richard again—even though it had already captured him twice before.

At this point, the octopus began to frown.

"Brat, do you think this gives you the right to be arrogant?" it said.

Hearing that, Richard was the one who frowned.

He felt that the octopus’s words carried a deeper meaning.

"I acknowledge your strength. You’re indeed more troublesome than that woman, but don’t think this is all the power of an Ancestral Bloodline. You simply don’t know how strong my true form is. Leave now. I’m sure you don’t want to see it. Because I respect you, I can forget the trouble you caused."

The octopus spoke seriously, and Richard didn’t feel like it was joking.

"What if I want to see it?" Richard replied.

This only made him more curious. In any case, he wasn’t afraid.

"Brat, no one survives after seeing my true form," the octopus glared angrily, clearly irritated by Richard’s continued arrogance.

"You’re really confident you can kill me? Did you realize the confused look on your face when I disappeared?"

"You—"

"Good. Very good..." The octopus nodded, its voice rumbling like a storm.

Right after that, Richard saw golden light erupt from its body, and its skin began to turn gold.

Its body rapidly expanded, growing far larger than before.

The immense aura it released was so majestic that it demanded reverence from anyone who felt it.

Richard thought that even Master Alex didn’t possess an aura this powerful.

It had become a golden octopus, and atop its head appeared a golden crown adorned with multicolored gemstones.

What shocked Richard the most was that it had grown ten times larger than its original size. Even the Giant Black Shark would look like a small fish compared to the octopus’s current form.

This was clearly a power boost similar to Richard’s Black Heart. The octopus had originally been at Tier 82—so what was it now?

Of course, its combat power as the holder of an Ancestral Bloodline was not something that could be ignored.

Richard’s Mind Attack was still assaulting the octopus’s mind, but with its power greatly increased, the effect naturally became extremely minimal.

"If this octopus is smart, even entering void mode will make it hard for me to escape," Richard thought.

The reason was simple—there was a limit to how long he could stay in that mode, especially given his current condition after exhausting so much Aether.

He might not even be able to leave the octopus’s range before being forced back into his normal state due to Aether depletion.

ROAR!

The octopus suddenly roared at Richard, pushing the seawater behind it forward. Richard was swept along with the water, blasted out of the sea.

He could see the kingdom’s base far behind him, and it seemed that the water pushed by the octopus would reach it. This was far more than a mere tsunami.

Of course, the base had its own defensive systems, so there was nothing for Richard to worry about.

"Brat, are you scared now?" the octopus shouted from the depths of the sea.

Thousands of its tentacles shot toward him at terrifying speed, and each one even spawned thousands more tentacles.

Their speed had already surpassed the limit of what Richard could deal with.

The only way for him to evade—aside from entering void mode—was to enter the Dragon Hall.

But entering the Dragon Hall might be the stupidest choice. The octopus could simply grab the Dragon Hall from outside and take it elsewhere.

"Octopus Ancestor, wait," Richard said.

To his surprise, the octopus actually stopped.

He had spoken on impulse, not expecting it to comply.

"Why, brat?" the octopus asked, appearing in front of Richard in an instant from the depths of the sea.

Richard gave a faint smile and said, "Let’s stop here. I’ll leave, and you return to your nest."

"That’s easy for you to say," the octopus spoke with a roar, clearly furious at Richard’s words.

In a battle already filled with rage, how could one side simply ask the other to let them go?

Moreover, the one making the request was the weaker party. Naturally, it was absurd.

"You know, brat, now that I’ve revealed myself, I’ll be forced to move from here sooner or later. At the very least, I need to give you a lesson—one that will make you tremble every time you think of me, forever," the octopus added.

Richard almost laughed when he heard that.

This was precisely why the octopus had restrained itself and only revealed its true form after being provoked by him—it didn’t want to be detected.

Once its existence was exposed, powerful Magi would likely come hunting for it. After all, a Primordial Beast with an Ancestral Bloodline—especially one that had reached Tier 82—was incredibly rare.

Such a Primordial Beast had immense potential to reach the peak of power. If it could be enslaved, that fortune would surpass even obtaining a Grand Weapon.

With lifespans far longer than humans at the same level, they could even become guardians of a clan.

The best example was, of course, the White Ancestor, who still served as the protector of the Skylight Clan to this day.

"If you knew me well enough, I’m sure you wouldn’t dare take another step forward," Richard replied calmly, maintaining his smile.

"What do you mean?" the octopus asked directly.

Despite its temper, this octopus was extremely intelligent. That was precisely why Richard felt better using this method to retreat rather than fleeing in panic.

"If I list my background one by one, you’d be scared to death," Richard said.

"For example, the woman you said looks like me—she’s my mother. She’s currently at the Peak Ruler Realm and could strangle you to death with ease. My father is from the Skylight Clan and just as strong, nearly an Ancient Sovereign. I even have many ancestors in the Ancient Sovereign Realm from both my father’s and mother’s clans who could arrive at any moment if I give the signal. Not to mention my wife—the new queen of the Holy Star Kingdom—who is madly in love with me and has sworn to kill anyone who dares make me unhappy. You must have heard of that queen. As a Lord, she has already slain several generals of the Holy Light Kingdom..."

"..."