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Chapter 95

Leonard glanced down at the scenery beneath them, feeling a sense of discomfort at the bizarrely constructed buildings. They weren’t made of stone or wood. Rather, something slimy and sticky had been erected in shapes resembling buildings. It looked like a colony of grayish-white slugs.

“...I can see why they’re vulnerable to light and heat.”

“It’s because the slime will dry up. Their heads may resemble octopuses, but biologically they’re more like worms or leeches. Unlike the Sea Orcs, they can’t come out of the Rift unless it undergoes Corrosion.”

Jack Russell recalled dissecting a Demon Octopus once, affirming Leonard’s thoughts. While these creatures had octopus-like heads, the rest of their slimy bodies were nearly amorphous.

The Demon Octopuses could move bipedally, quadrupedally, or even slither like snakes. Aside from their brains, they had no vital organs, meaning that even if their bodies were destroyed, they quickly regenerated—a particularly troublesome trait.

“But their slimy bodies are weak against heat and light, so they’ll shrivel up if you so much as bring a torch near them, leaving only their heads. It’s no wonder they hide in the deep sea.”

“If they’re that vulnerable to fire, exploring the Abyss of the Demon Octopus wouldn\'t have been that difficult, would it?”

“Ah, it seems like I’ve caused a misunderstanding,” Russell responded with a wry smile. “Within this Rift, magic that generates light or heat is heavily weakened. The otherworldly laws suppress the combustion phenomenon itself. Not even a Class 6 Mage can use Fireball here.”

However, a Class 7 Archmage could still use their abilities even within a realm governed by otherworldly laws. Just as a master martial artist could confront the world with their own strength, a master mage could construct a world within themselves.

Although they couldn’t surpass or overwhelm the otherworldly laws in scope and influence, they wouldn’t be entirely crushed by them either. Unlike Rift cores, which encapsulated only minor, trivial aspects of the otherworldly laws, an Archmage was the sole master of their own laws.

The flow of the Vermilion Bird Qi is also disrupted. Interesting.

Leonard dispersed the energy he had gathered in his palm, acknowledging Russell’s explanation. He had tried to unleash the Five Elements Qi one by one, finding that only fire qi didn’t move smoothly. Even with his control, the disruption caused by the Rift was all too palpable.

Normally, warriors below the Transcendence Tier would struggle to handle fire energy for anything beyond physical enhancement, let alone sword energy.

The Outer World Order—experiencing the very principles of the world turning hostile against him was a bizarre and exhilarating experience for Leonard.

I can withstand it with the Five Elements Augmented Qi. Unlike in the Sea Orc Den, I feel like I can use it anytime in this Deep Sea City.

The blatant interference of the core caused the Five Elements True Dragon Ring coiled around his heart to growl. It seemed ready to lend Leonard its power at any moment, surging to unleash fire from his mouth. This suggested that its activation condition was confronting beings from the Outer World.

“Hmm.”

At that moment, a swarm of Demon Octopuses floated up ahead, blocking the flying disc’s path. Their tentacles, fluttering like cloaks, were utterly grotesque.

Though there was no information regarding their ability to fly, it wasn’t surprising given their adaptive nature. If they could walk on two or four legs, then mimicking a bird’s flight could very well be within their capabilities.

“A pelican with an octopus head... That’s nightmare fuel right there,” Russell remarked with disgust, stealing the words from Leonard’s mouth.

“We can’t avoid combat now. I’ll block their attacks, so you focus on clearing a path for the flying disc.”

“Understood... But—”

Leonard drew all five swords from their sheaths. The murderous aura of the blades, arranged neatly above his head, was quivering.

Russell kept looking at him in surprise.

“This won’t take long,” Leonard declared without looking back.

Thanks to Helios pushing back the deep-sea darkness, Leonard’s mana senses were functioning normally.

Forty-two Demon Octopuses had spotted them and were attempting to stop them in their tracks. Each one was Rank B3, equal to or greater than the troll that had nearly killed Leonard.

However, with the Five Elements Augmented Qi activated, Leonard had come to be no different from a Master.

Five Elements Augmented Qi

Flying Crimson Burning Swords

The five swords burned brightly—infused with the Vermilion Bird Qi, the blades emitted light and heat, searing the Demon Octopuses.

Leonard had extracted only the Vermilion Bird Qi from the Five Elements Augmented Qi and imbued it into the swords. It seemed that the Five Elements Augmented Qi was powerful enough to overcome the suppression from the Outer World Order.

The Crimson Burning Swords, glowing several times brighter than usual, shot forward at his command.

I could use Sword Manipulation... but it consumes too much mental energy. An augmented qi technique is better in this scenario.

He decided on the most efficient technique.

Five Elements Style, Five Swords Style

Vermillion Bird Twenty-Fourth Form: Fire Bird Explosion

The five Crimson Burning Swords soared, forming a massive flaming bird, roaring like the Vermilion Bird.

Screeeeeech—!!

Its level of completion was on a different level from before. Temporarily embodying spiritual power, the flaming bird glared at the grotesque creatures squirming before it.

The Demon Octopuses were faced with a creature materialized from an Aura Blade of the extreme opposite attribute!

Possessing intelligence equal to or perhaps even greater than humans, the Demon Octopuses recognized the threat immediately and let out ultrasonic cries of despair as they began their frantic resistance.

“■■■■■■?!”

“■■■!? ■■!”

“■■■■■!!”

Although their speech was incomprehensible, their intent was clear. The magic circles emerging right in front of their faces bore no resemblance to human magic. Judging by the scale of power, each outer-world magic spell was equivalent to a Class 5 spell.

The tentacles, which looked like worms with centipede legs, surged upward, spraying some strange substance, possibly venom or acid. Naturally, their target was the flying disc.

“Ha, are they underestimating me?” Russell muttered with a displeased expression as he focused on controlling the Floating Board.

In an instant, the Floating Board accelerated from a standstill back to two hundred knots, weaving in a zigzag path to dodge all the attacks.

There was no need to block anything. Perhaps evasion would’ve been impossible if the tentacles were as fast as lightning magic, but at this speed, only guided projectiles could hit the mark.

Having swiftly moved out of the range of the Demon Octopuses’ attacks, Russell watched as the flaming entity proceeded to slaughter them.

“Putting that aside, what exactly is that firebird? It looks like it’s been summoned with an Aura Blade. Leonard, I thought you haven’t reached the Transcendence Tier yet?”

“Yes, I haven’t. Let’s just say it’s a technique I’ve developed on my own.”

“Then I won’t press further. It’s quite fascinating. They might find you a greater threat than me.”

Russell’s words rang true. The firebird born from the Fire Bird Explosion treated the Demon Octopuses like mere prey, pecking them to death, tearing them apart with its claws, and burning them with its fiery wings.

Over half of the forty-two Demonic Octopuses had turned to ash and plummeted. A few that barely escaped the hunt charged at the Floating Board, only to be met with Leonard’s counterattack.

Six Sun Finger Art

Beams of light burst forth from Leonard’s fingertips, piercing the incoming octopuses in the head and sending them crashing down. This technique, which fired six energy projectiles at once, wasn’t as powerful or far-reaching as a technique from the Six Sun Cultivation Method.

However, the fire energy from the Vermilion Bird Qi was potent enough to fry the octopuses’ brains.

“...The more I watch, the more you intrigue me. Is that really martial arts?” Russell asked, glancing at Leonard, who was calling the firebird back to his side.

“Yes, it is.”

As the triumphant firebird returned to its master and dispersed, the swords forming its body returned to their sheaths. Within a few minutes, all forty-two Demonic Octopuses had been annihilated.

Thanks to the enhanced efficiency of his internal energy circulation from the Five Elements Augmented Qi, Leonard had hardly expended any energy. It wouldn’t take long for him to replenish what little he had used.

“Let’s proceed. The faster we move, the safer the ship will be.”

“Mhmm...” Though Russell wanted to slowly study Leonard’s fighting style, he suppressed his curiosity and set the flying disc in motion.

They had only faced a patrol unit, not the main defensive force. The real battle was yet to come. Given how many times they would fight, his curiosity would eventually be satisfied.

And sure enough, within just five minutes, Leonard’s swords sprang into action again as they encountered the second line of defense.

As expected, I made the right choice following this expedition team, Russell thought as he watched from behind, his eyes alight with excitement. A member of the greatest sword family on the continent, the Cardenas family, was displaying his true power, and endless inspiration swirled in the Archmage’s mind as he witnessed it.

* * *

The closer they got to the center of the Deep Sea City, the stronger the forces opposing them became. The average level of the Demonic Octopuses had risen from Rank B3 to Rank B4, and their psychic waves could reach them from hundreds of meters away.

If Leonard had been an ordinary External Force Tier martial artist, he would have long since had his brain destroyed and become a soulless husk.

“Hmph, it’s not even itchy,” Leonard noted, unfazed by the waves of mental attacks.

Taking down Leonard with these attacks was just wishful thinking from the Demon Octopuses.

Leonard kept flinging his five swords with deadly precision.

Even if they were using mind swords, I could handle a few strikes. There’s no way these weak psychic waves can affect me.

It wasn’t a true manifestation of Intent from the upper dantian, but rather a technique mimicking its power using the lower and middle dantian.

Several malefic arts and demonic arts also employed similar techniques to the psychic waves—disrupting consciousness with ghostly sounds or inciting bloodlust to break one’s sanity.

Even before crossing into the Creation Realm, Leonard had mastered the Qingming Cultivation Method, rendering such tricks useless.

“■■■■■■■?!”

One Demonic Octopus, unable to comprehend how its deadly psychic attack was neutralized, fell in disbelief.

Leonard sighed as he looked over the battlefield. They had just slain over three hundred Demonic Octopuses.

“Ha... It is getting a bit tiring, dealing with so many of them.”

“You’re only now starting to feel tired? I almost can’t believe you’re still at the External Force Tier,” Russell commented as he kept piloting the flying disk.

“Well, it seems like we’re almost there. Can you feel it?”

“Yes, its presence is incredible.” Russell replied.

Both men simultaneously turned their sharp gazes toward the Deep Sea City’s center, sensing a formidable presence.

Whatever was down there was unlike the Sea Orc Champion, who had barely surpassed its limits by harnessing the power of the core, still nowhere near as strong as a Master. If it hadn’t been for the protection of the Outer World Order, Leonard could have slain it in under two minutes without even using augmented qi.

But the creature they were sensing now was on a whole other level.

Its power seems even greater than Fabian’s. Its magnitude is over fifteen times larger, though its level is similar.

It was a genuine Master; the mere fact that the creature dwelled in the center of the Rift made it a force to be reckoned with, capable of altering the flow of the world.

The Floating Board ascended slowly, bringing the Rift Guardian into view from several kilometers away.

“...Is that the Rift Guardian?” Russell asked, momentarily baffled.

Leonard nodded, adding another piece to the puzzle, “It seems the core is inside that creature.”

As opposed to the Sea Orc Den, the core and the guardian of the Abyss of the Demonic Octopus were exposed right in the city center as if to challenge any invaders. Naturally, there was no way for such a colossal creature to conceal itself.

Unlike the Demonic Octopuses, whose heads were the only parts that resembled an octopus, this creature was an actual octopus—the only difference was its enormous size, appearing to be at least five hundred meters in volume.

Even lying flat on the ground, the creature appeared enormous; if it stood up, it would likely seem even more gigantic.

“You could call that thing a Kraken. A giant octopus that uses mental attacks? Let’s call it a Mind Kraken for now.”

“Okay. Sounds fitting.”

“■■■■?”

As they exchanged words, a massive psychic wave from the Mind Kraken swept across the entire city, identifying the intruders who had reached its perimeter. It was like echolocation but more primitive and fast.

Soon, a pair of blazing red eyes glared at their Floating Board, and with just that slight movement, a psychic wave swept over them, exerting a physical pressure.

The monster was using Telekinesis, but even so, Jack Russell and Leonard moved without hesitation.

“A sneak attack won\'t work,” Leonard noted.

“It’s going to be a pain in the ass to get near that thing. I can’t even pinpoint where it’s brain is,” Russell grumbled.

“We’ll just have to dig until we get a reaction.”

Judging from its overwhelming presence, the Mind Kraken’s power seemed to be at least Rank S2, perhaps even half a rank higher. However, despite that and its massive form, Leonard and Russell weren’t fazed in the slightest.

With a loud roar, the Floating Board surged forward. The time for the final battle had come.