Chapter 282 - Offering

The air swarmed with too many locusts. Their overwhelming numbers had always been their greatest strength in battle.

Xue Wei noticed Han Wu’s core race was locusts and sneered, “No wonder you’re so weak. Your core race is locusts! What use are they except to flood the enemy with sheer numbers?”

Aslai wanted to slap her. Han Wu had already done more than enough by summoning his units to aid them, yet Xue Wei kept insulting him.

The Elder’s eyes narrowed with anger. Despite just learning that Han Wu’s core race was the locusts, Han Wu had still risen to become the Holy Son of Death. The Godking of Death never judged wrongly, so the Elder was certain Han Wu possessed something extraordinary.

Han Wu ignored Xue Wei’s taunts and activated his Divine Skills on his locusts.

[Defiance Divine Skill: Conduitborn. Gain strength proportional to the accumulated energy. Can be used on units in your command.]

[War Divine Skill: Fanatic. Sharply increases damage by squeezing every ounce of potential from the body.]

[War Divine Skill: Last Stand. Increases damage for the final strike before death by 100 times.]

These three Divine Skills magnified the locusts’ power in the sky by several orders of magnitude.

Xue Wei blinked in surprise at Han Wu’s skillful use of the Divine Skills but quickly resumed mocking, “They’re still just locusts, even reinforced by those Divine Skills. You’re wasting your Divine Points.”

Han Wu ignored her again and commanded his locusts into battle. The first wave clashed with the Holy Harpies. The locusts didn’t have a strategy and detonated themselves on contact with them.

The combined effects of Conduitborn and Fanatic sharply increased the locusts’ damage output. Last Stand recognized their Self-Detonation as a final attack and amplified it even further. By the end, the damage had multiplied a thousandfold, wiping out many of the Holy Harpies in the first wave. Even the Heroic Holy Harpies were caught in the blasts and destroyed.

The exploded locusts turned into spirits, which Han Wu consumed through his Souleater Gaze and channeled into the Defiant Sword. He even absorbed the souls of the fallen Holy Harpies in the process. The steady influx of new souls nourished the Defiant Sword and gradually pushed it toward unlocking a new form.

The first wave of locusts crushed the Holy Harpies’ invasion.

The entire Darkness faction base reeled in disbelief. Were those really locusts? Even Great Dragons weren’t that powerful!

Xue Wei stood frozen. When had locusts ever been this terrifying?

“Holy Son! What incredible power!” the Elder exclaimed, seizing the moment to flatter Han Wu. Even at his peak as a Demigod, he couldn’t have done this.

Han Wu had seen firsthand how well the Divine Skills worked together to enhance his locusts. With his command, several more waves detonated, successfully driving back the Holy Harpies.

In response, the Light faction changed tactics. To drain the locust swarm, they sent in a massive wave of cannon fodder in place of the Holy Harpies. The battlefield quaked beneath their charge.

Aslai was the commander of this battlefront and refused to yield. He countered by releasing a tide of Dark Beings as cannon fodder to defend the base. Both sides clashed in a brutal deadlock, their forces dying by the second.

Han Wu continued using his Souleater Gaze to consume the souls, but the energy within them was too chaotic. It couldn’t help him unlock a new form for the Defiant Sword. He could only use the energy to feed and strengthen it instead.

From time to time, he also sent a few locusts to detonate within the enemy lines, helping the Darkness faction maintain its ground. Thanks to those efforts, the base narrowly withstood the onslaught.

Once the Holy Harpies had fully withdrawn, Aslai appeared before Han Wu and dropped to his knees. “Oh glorious God. Please forgive my past transgressions. I only ask for the chance to atone for my mistakes.”

Han Wu stared at him, puzzled.

The Elder stepped forward to clarify. “The races sent to the front lines are essentially abandoned. This vampire doesn’t want to waste his life in a dead-end warzone. He’s offering himself to become one of your units instead.”

Han Wu nodded in response. Aslai had witnessed his strength and wanted to join Han Wu’s races, just like the Epistians and minotaurs under his rule.

Han Wu wanted to accept, but he couldn’t. Despite Aslai’s status as a Demigod, Han Wu was still one himself, and his divine realm remained too limited. He could not take in a unit or race equal to his own rank. This limitation also explained why Steely, now a King life form, couldn’t become a Demigod.

Aslai noticed Han Wu’s silence and assumed Han Wu looked down on him. His face turned pale at the thought.

Han Wu coughed, a little embarrassed. “

Uhm...

I can’t accept your offer right now because I am still a Demigod. I can only do so once I ascend into a God.”

Aslai’s sadness gave way to joy. The sudden hope painted a bright future in his mind.

Han Wu was a little worried about something else. “Wait, will your god agree to you offering yourself to me?”

He could tell Aslai was powerful and valuable, so he doubted anyone would easily release him from their service.

Aslai’s heart twisted at Han Wu’s words. His god had died long ago, and though he now followed another, he felt less like a devotee and more like a slave. They all were. This new god had purchased Aslai and the other vampires as chattel, nothing more. Why else would such a formidable race be thrown onto the battlefield as expendable fodder?

He opened his mouth to explain his plight to Han Wu when Xue Wei’s voice cut through the air.

“Aslai, you ungrateful wretch!” she spat. “How dare you betray our god? Have you forgotten he bought us from the slave markets? He gave us names, dignity! I’ll make sure he punishes you for this!”

“Shut up!” Aslai snapped. “My faith belongs to our fallen god. The one you serve sent us here to die. He deserves neither my respect nor my devotion. Even my name was just a whim, a passing fancy. Let him take it back!”

Xue Wei roared, “I will report this to our god! Aslai, you are dead. You have no right to lead us anymore.”

Han Wu frowned at her relentless shouting. “Silence.”

She refused to admit her mistakes and snapped back, “Insolent fool! Our god is a true God and will side with me—”

Before she could finish, Han Wu swung his Defiant Sword and severed her head in a single, decisive strike. The sword could counter any attribute, ignoring the vampires’ special body constitution to kill her instantly.

Xue Wei had never expected Han Wu to actually kill her.

Han Wu sighed once she was dead. “Finally, the world is quieter.”

He turned to Aslai and said, “Well then. Our next goal is to take control of this entire battlefront.”