Cornflower Witch

Chapter 301 The Weakness of the Hand of Death

Continuing her journey through the Bloodlimb Forest, Hiltiya begins to encounter all sorts of strange life forms, including a one-winged bird that looks like a withered leaf, an eight-legged crawler that runs on the ground, and a black and red one-eyed serpent. The diversity of species is truly eye-opening.

At this moment, a monster and Hiltiya encountered each other in the forest; the monster was also at the third tier.

[Child of the Demon] (Tier 3 - Nightmare)

Its appearance resembles that of a dead human infant, with tattered fleshy wings on its back. It can fly slowly across the Twilight Sea, excels at frightening enemies, and uses mental attacks.

With purplish-red skin, thin hands and feet, and facial features squeezed together, this 'child of evil' revealed sharp teeth when it opened its mouth to scream. As soon as it saw Hilti, it charged at the girl viciously and let out a sinister laugh.

The laughter carried a mental attack, causing fear and panic among the surrounding creatures. Some third-tier monsters fled the area upon hearing it, and some lower-tier creatures were even scared unconscious.

On the other side, Hilti felt an evil spirit assaulting her consciousness. Although she resisted it, she still felt somewhat nauseous.

This guy is indeed somewhat dangerous. She stared at him, and golden light appeared in her pupils.

【Eye of Deterrence】

Layers of superimposed images seemed to appear in the golden pupils, breaking through the demon child's consciousness defenses, causing its brain to crash instantly, falling from the sky and crashing to the ground, dizzy and unable to stand up.

When it finally regained its senses and was about to escape, its body suddenly stiffened, as if it had been frozen in place.

The Lock in the Eyes

Invisible chains appeared in Hilti's vision, pinning the demon child to the spot.

【Evil Eye Shot】

Purple eye patterns appeared in the air, their dazzling rays piercing through the demon's son's body and tearing him apart.

After it ended, a black crystal rolled out from the body of the Demon Child.

Soon, fingers wearing black gloves carefully picked the bead up from the soil.

Hiltiya carefully examined the bead and analyzed its function.

'Nightmare Crystal Bead' (Tier 3, Excellent) can be used as a curse and mental corruption item, or as a ritual sacrifice.

Although the beads contain the 'nightmare' element, they are not stable and are difficult to make into equipment for long-term use. They can only be used as disposable consumables.

Hiltiya shook her head. Although it was a third-tier crystal, the value of this crystal was probably only around 200 gold coins.

She put it away and sealed it in a specially made, isolated stone box, then continued on her way.

Her eyes blinked, and one pupil changed from blue to emerald green, a strange spectrum appearing in her field of vision.

Those were traces of the 'Blood Fruit'. In the distance, she saw a special red spectrum, which contained both the ripeness and allure of the fruit and the viscosity and warmth of blood.

"Let's go take a look," the girl quickened her pace.

The closer she got to the location of the 'Blood Fruit', the more monsters she encountered. Along the way, she saw some monsters fighting, and then two third-tier monsters were fighting in front of her.

【Star-Spotted Cheetah】(Tier 3, Alien)

'A cheetah wielding alien power, its body shimmering with starlight, capable of traversing the folds of space, its claws possessing a subtle spatial-tearing effect.'

[Hand of Death] (Tier 3 - Ashes)

'A monster born from the resentment of the dead, it harbors a strange jealousy and hatred towards the living. Once caught by a finger, it greedily absorbs the life force of the victim, transforming it into the power of 'death embers,' and then fills itself with the victim's corpse.'

On the left is a star-spotted cheetah that leaps onto a rock to dodge the attack of the Hand of Death. It is twice the size of the tiger that Hilti knows, but it is agile and not a creature that follows the path of strength. A faint white light appears on its sharp claws, giving people a sense of danger.

On the right is a giant hand as tall as an elephant, with seven fingers on its main body and several smaller hands attached to the side, strangely pieced together. Each finger is moving, as if searching for prey based on some kind of sense. Judging from the thickness of those fingers, if you were to be grabbed by it, it would be extremely difficult to break free.

Once again, the cheetah on the left launched an attack. It stepped into the folds of space again, disappeared from its original spot, and then suddenly appeared behind the huge hand. Its sharp claws tore four long claw marks on the hand, revealing the twisted dark red muscles and pale bones inside.

After being attacked, the cheetah retaliated swiftly, but it vanished from its spot again, dodging the counterattack, and then reappeared on the other side of the hand, attacking that side as well. This happened several times, leaving multiple wounds on the hand, and the cheetah was panting heavily.

The giant hand of death was quick to react, and the Star-Spotted Cheetah had to dodge it each time using its spatial teleportation ability, but this ability was also quite costly. It also had to use its sharp claws with the spatial tearing effect to tear through the opponent's thick, tough skin.

Unfortunately, the Hand of Death is not a living thing, and there is no flowing blood in its body; it is merely a superficial wound and will not be fatal.

After several encounters, the cheetah was exhausted and visibly slowed down.

Realizing it might be outmatched, the cheetah let out a low growl, then turned and fled, soon disappearing into the Bloodlimb Forest.

After losing track of its prey, the enormous hand of death became enraged, especially by the various lacerations on its body, which seemed to be a source of some kind of shame.

Turning its head, it grabbed several low-level creatures hiding nearby, crushing their bones with its palm. At the moment of their death, as if completing some kind of ritual, the 'blood law' nature contained within their bodies instantly transformed into the 'death ember' nature and was absorbed by it.

After being hunted repeatedly, its wounds gradually healed.

Although it lacks obvious intelligence, this instinct is quite terrifying, Hilti observed from a distance and sighed.

If she were to confront this monster, what methods should she employ?

A plant parasitic with the 'Emerald Honey' nature? No way, this thing has no blood, and its body is filled with the power of death through its meridians and bones. I'm afraid that once the seed enters, it will be eroded and corrupted.

The Spiral Spear's piercing attack? It has some effect, but it's not very useful. The opponent is huge, and as an inanimate object, being pierced through the heart doesn't affect their movement.

Binding with giant vines? That's difficult. The opponent is very strong and powerful. Binding them would require a lot of energy, making it a very low-efficiency combat tactic.

It seems that many of the methods of the 'Emerald Honey' type are not effective against creatures with the 'Death' type, giving the impression of being restrained.

If it were to be the 'Blazing Sun' element, Hilti had a feeling she would gain a certain advantage, but not a strong one. In fact, if it were a low-level 'Blazing Sun' element, it might be absorbed and transformed by the opponent.

The 'death' aspect of this world is not simply the attribute of death, but also the concept of ashes after burning. It is the part left after life has burned, and it does not directly conflict with the 'blazing sun' that represents vitality. Rather, it is more like the continuation of the other and the opposite of the future.

What truly opposes it? How can 'Death' be restrained? Hiltiya pondered.

If creatures with the 'death' attribute are lives that have gone astray, then guiding them back to the right path and returning them to true, peaceful death may be the end of their lives. But who possesses this power?

The answer is, the serene and clear 'Radiant Moon'.

As a gentle and tranquil aspect of light, the radiant moon is an exceptionally clear and pure light. It lacks the mixed life force of the blazing sun and does not interfere with the development of things. It simply presents their original reality. Using it as a means of attack may be weak, but in certain areas, it is exceptionally powerful.

Calming her mind, Hilti summoned a spear made of emerald green branches. The tip of the spear slowly twisted, and faint lightning appeared. Then the spear shot out and pierced through the palm of the giant hand, revealing a hollow wound full of bones and twisted meridians.

Then, Hilti clasped her hands together, and an enlarged figure with the same posture as her appeared behind her. This girl, composed of countless points of light, wore a flowing dress, held a water bottle in one hand, stood still, and prayed with her eyes closed. Then, clear water flowed from the mouth of the bottle.

The clear water flowed along the spiral path, washing over the giant hand and entering its interior through the hole it had passed through. The originally angry hand trembled with fear during this process, and then its body seemed to fall apart as it slowly collapsed, finally turning into countless shattered white bones and tattered veins.

The embers were extinguished by clear water, and finally turned into peaceful dust.

Afterwards, Hilti walked slowly into the shattered bones, following her vague senses, and finally found the only remaining special bone.

Its appearance has changed from pale to a light, transparent jade color, and the aura it exudes is exceptionally peaceful.

'Tranquil Bone Jade' (Tier 2, Rare): A rare and special gemstone containing a tranquil aura. It can be used to soothe certain agitated spirits. In addition, it can be made into special ornaments to increase mental stability.

Most of the power of the 'Death Ash' aspect was purified and dismembered, turning into dust and dissipating. Only this piece of essence remained. Its rank was not third, but its quality had improved considerably.

Hiltiya wiped away the stains, carefully touched the warm, smooth bone jade, and then put it away.

As everyone has said, this region is indeed dangerous, but it also has many resources that are difficult for outsiders to obtain.

Keep going, she still has a lot of abilities that need to be tested and tried.

(End of this chapter)