Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 268 The Troublesome Bull Demon

When he unleashed this sword strike, even Rean himself didn't expect that his strongest strike wouldn't require a real sword.

"SKERVA (Sword of Destruction)!"

The sword model, symbolizing cutting, was infused with a large amount of magic power and transformed into a physical force field blade, resembling a field shield.

This was the second time Rean had used this dragon-speech spell, and his best expectation was to use the massive sword shape to cleave the beast back.

The thick scales, bark, and hellfire-based composite skin, along with the metallic clang from his previous collisions with Hela and Claire, all made Rean realize just how tough these slightly divine bodies could be.
"How can it be!"

But when the transparent force field blade fell, all the witnesses were stunned.

The spectators outside even stood up, staring in disbelief as the giant sword fell.

In fact, even Rean himself was confused.

"How is this possible?! How could it have been cut open so easily?"

The enormous blade fell, and the giant beast's arm, which was originally as hard as steel from hell, met it head-on. Then, like a kitchen knife cutting through paper, it was easily cleaved in two!
When the massive wrist and severed arm fell, blood gushed out, still glowing with green flames.

"Moo!!"

The giant bull roared and screamed in agony.

The fiery creature's eyes were filled with confusion; it was completely unaware of any threat or killing intent, yet one of its hands was easily severed.

It wasn't over yet. Without the arm to stop it, the ethereal blade continued to fall, brutally tearing open the flesh and blood on its chest once more.

A huge wound was cut open, and the green flames that spewed out resembled a volcanic eruption, even creating a pool of fire filled with hellfire on the battlefield.

"Moo!"

The behemoth, enraged beyond measure, swung its arms wildly; it seemed to be capable of feeling pain.

Rean's sudden, divine attack caused the crazed Ulda bull demon to scream in agony.

Rean then remembered his "wall-breaker." He had once again underestimated the strength of the Heroic Spirit Sull!
That simple and unadorned unique characteristic could even harm a true god at its peak, let alone a twisted creation with only a trace of divinity.

The "Wallbreaker," which has been elevated to the Diamond level by Rean, is attached to the Force Field Blade, which embodies the concept of "cutting," becoming an unstoppable sword of Damocles.

This "righteous sneak attack" gave the Ulda Bull Demon a rather unforgettable greeting.

"Snapped!"

The next instant, Rean was naturally sent flying, crashing violently into the wall and creating a large crater.

"Rean!!"

No one expected that Rean would so easily incite hatred with his first move.

But unlike Hela and Claire, who are at least Great Warriors, can Rean, who is only at the third rank, really withstand such a heavy blow?
"That's flavorful." He spat out a mouthful of blood, shook his head, and seemed to be fine.

As the smoke cleared, Rean stood up without even breaking a bone.

The black armor emitted a faint black light, and it didn't even have a hole in it despite this level of attack, clearly indicating that it was no ordinary object.

In fact, it was the timely softening of the "armor" that prevented Rean from being injured by the collision. He shook off the dust from his body and rejoined the battle.

Putting aside other factors, actual combat has proven that my armor and physical strength provide quite good defense.

Perhaps, I really can stand at the forefront of this war and become a major force in the fight against the divine monster.
"Snapped!"

Then, Rean was slammed directly into the ground.

There was no way around it; his attack had drawn aggro too firmly, and the shield guards in front simply couldn't stop the behemoth.

This is the result of losing control of hatred and getting too close: the crazed bull demon chased after Rean and beat him up!
"Moo!"

With the giant beast suddenly raising its head and roaring furiously, the entire world twisted once again after the violent roar.

A massive amount of vines and grass grew wildly, and the "weeds" taller than a person grew claws and teeth, frantically tearing apart all life around them.

The Ulda Bull Demon is not a born warrior; it is a corrupted World Tree seed, originally a pure "creation of nature." Even now, relying solely on its bloodline's fighting instincts, its extremely absurd physical attributes make it difficult for this team to easily subdue.

Another batch of corrupted creatures were activated and dealt with and resisted by the second-line soldiers.

"Don't panic, maintain formation. Warriors below the Great Warrior level, stay away from it. Mages, prepare your fire spells." A Radiant Guard was still organizing.

It seems that neither his captain Claire nor Rean listened to him much.

But now, after the initial chaos, the agreed-upon tactics are finally being executed.

Top-tier warriors restrained the monster's attacks, while warlocks and mages, as the main damage dealers, unleashed a barrage of rockets and fireballs.

While most creatures in Purgatory are highly fire-resistant, the Uldar Bull Demon born from the World Tree has half of its limbs made of wood, so it probably isn't very fire-resistant. The World Tree itself is notoriously afraid of fire; several historically known World Trees have been burned.
"Strong fire resistance detected. Activate backup plan."

Reality is always too unsettling.

The fire arrows and fireballs barely even managed to blast a small hole in it, so this "tree" actually works to prevent fire!

This is not to blame for incorrect intelligence. The Ulda Bull Demon is extremely rare. It is already lucky to have found some basic information about it. Moreover, each one is completely different. From now on, we can only proceed by fighting and probing as we go.

"Continue, spellcaster, don't stop."

The next moment, warlocks and mages unleashed a barrage of magic missiles, arcane shocks, and missile storms. Let the versatile force field damage provide a stable output.

"Boom!"

The brilliance of the spell caused the giant beast to instinctively retreat, but everyone could see that such a small wound had little effect.

"Force field damage also has resistance?! Not just high magic resistance, is this what a divine being is like?"

The bad news was quickly proven true.

Ice, lightning, acid—after trying them one by one, the results were all poor.

Even the slightest divine inheritance brings terrifying all-around resistance.

Next, the front-line members of the squad were "surprised" to find that the swordsmen and warriors were also ineffective. Hela and Claire were able to reliably inflict wounds, but the enemy's recovery speed was also extremely fast!

These behemoths generally possess strong self-healing abilities; otherwise, a few wounds would be enough to kill them. However, their healing speed is so fast that it is visible to the naked eye, making them extremely difficult to deal with.

"Snapped!"

This time, an unlucky member of the city guard was slapped away.

As a fourth-tier warrior, he had already "transformed" while still in the air, and by the time he landed, he had turned into a pile of minced meat.

His armor and shield were meaningless in the process; they were now intertwined with his flesh and blood.

Don't be fooled by Hela and Rean's seemingly alive and kicking after being hit. It's the normal professionals who would be turned into mincemeat from a single hit by a monster like that!
"Destroy evil!"

Meanwhile, the knight squad, averaging only third or fourth rank, began their first attack under the cover of the shield guards.

"Boom!" The moment the radiant Demon-Slaying Slash touched the monster's skin, it caused an explosion.

"Moo!" Accompanying the cow's bellow was a large expanse of bloody wounds.

Even skin as hard as iron cannot withstand the radiant holy power of the strike.

To be precise, in stark contrast to flames and blades which only deal a small fraction of the damage, the Radiant Evil Slash easily inflicts wounds several times larger than the original damage.

The large wounds on the Bull Demon's body instantly necrotized, turned to ash, and cracked open; the effect of the Demon-Slaying Slash was surprisingly good.

"It has become a complete hell."

With its resistance to fire and its ability to devour the Demon-Slaying Slash, this World Tree sapling has completely degenerated into a creature of purgatory.

It seems that there is absolutely no possibility of saving it.

The bull demon, in pain, suddenly opened its mouth wide, and black light gathered within it, along with foul-smelling, toxic breath.

Just like with Rean before, the paladins' heavy blows instantly drew all their aggro. Against such high-resistance monsters, the shield guards became very ineffective.

"Can't hide!"

Larry stood at the front, clad in crystal armor, ready to use her superior armor and innate abilities to withstand the breath attack. She tried to block Dimon behind her, but the towering pigman was no match for her.

It seems that Dimon also dealt the behemoth a heavy blow, as this breath attack was aimed at him.

Dimon gritted his teeth, stepped forward, and prepared to deliver a vicious blow before being sprayed with bullets.

Even if I have to die, I will cut off a piece of your flesh!

"SKERVA (Sword of Destruction)!"

A "sword" suddenly fell from the sky, slicing through the air at that moment.

It was invisible and formless, yet as swift as lightning, and it severed the bull's head in one fell swoop!
"Boom!"

As the bull's head landed, the breath that had been half-formed automatically went out of control and exploded directly on the ground.

The few unlucky city guards who were closest to the scene died instantly, but it didn't end there. The breath, carrying toxins from purgatory and alien swamps, instantly turned the dead into withered corpses!

"Boom."

These corpses, surprisingly, stood up unsteadily and lunged at the living people around them.

They were noticeably slow and dull; the newly awakened undead were incredibly weak, but this very form had already severely damaged the morale of the hunting party.

"careful!"

The severed bull's head brought some people a sense of relief.

"Boom!"

The sudden appearance of a giant hand from the sky revealed that this was not the end of the story.

The headless bull demon is still alive and well, and a much smaller "bull head" is rapidly regenerating on its neck.

The World Tree is the source of life; how could it be so easily cut down? Perhaps for the "tree," its head is truly just an ornament.

"Keep going, don't rush. Time is on our side. It's consuming its reserves every moment, and at such a depth underground, it can't get any replenishment from nature."

Rean clearly remembered that when no one was around, the monster was in a sleep-like "energy-saving state." It was obviously in a state of energy deficiency for a long time, and it couldn't have accumulated too much energy.

In fact, there were some things Rean didn't say.

As the battle entered what was destined to be a protracted war of attrition, another squad in the rear had already begun their planned work.

"Eat, eat more."

Mushroom led his people into a forest filled with thorns and mutated plants, and all sorts of "mushrooms" appeared wherever they went.

The constantly scattered mushroom spores grow rapidly in this forest, robbing the plants and creatures within of their vitality.

Ultimately, this forest and its territory are also part of that giant Ulda Bull Demon.

If the life force in these areas is taken away, it will naturally drain the power and life force of the Ulda Bull Demon!
"Snapped!"

A newly grown mushroom, perhaps having "eaten too much," instantly split into pieces.

Then, the scattered spore bullets were fired everywhere.

Soon, ten times, even a hundred times, new mushroom swarms appeared around the area.

Mushrooms as tall as a person have appeared, and the spores they release into the air create even more colonies, reigniting the ancient war between 'mushrooms' and 'forests'.

This was the planned strategy: to allow the "parasitic" mushroom army to steal the nutrient channels from the World Tree seedling and turn it into a culture medium for their own species to reproduce.
"Continue, this will be our future mushroom forest, let's drain this ugly behemoth!"

This was Rean's true trump card, prepared for the Ulda Bull Demon.

(End of this chapter)