Long Wu decided to increase the output of his transcendent energy to be on the standard of the Core Formation Realm since he realized that the enemy was strong and strengthened by the Ether.
Long Wu spun the core in his lower dantian faster and faster, increasing the energy circulation as well as its potential output.
Long Wu also had an attack technique he had not used. But he needed the attack to be fatal. As he thought about the right time to use his attack technique, black mist swirled around his body. Long Wu looked like a terrifying ghost as only the glint of his eyes could be seen amidst the black mist.
The black mist painted the surroundings black and filled them with decay. The pressure Long Wu emitted was increasing as the wind screamed out loud that there was something that could alter the environment right in the middle of the forest.
The figure then also let out a pressure and a green-colored mist around its body. It resisted the pressure and the black mist that threatened to engulf it. The figure was actually intelligent so it quickly launched an attack to prevent Long Wu from increasing his strength further.
Long Wu used his movement skill to create afterimages and dodged the claw attack from the figure while also launching a counterattack on his own. His limbs were strengthened as the dagger was filled with undead element.
The slash reached the figure and managed to get through its hard exterior.
The figure roared in pain. The figure was never humiliated by being injured but now that the figure was injured, it moved with fury at Long Wu while releasing his green-colored energy, trying to overwhelm Long Wu with sheer output alone.
Long Wu snorted while continuing to use his movement skill. Despite the pressure, the afterimages were as good as before, as if it was not being affected. Long Wu then found a weakness in the figure’s posture and swiftly moved to a suitable attack position.
‘Corrupt Cut!’ Long Wu not only let the transcendent energy flow to the dagger but also pressed it into a thin but sharp form suitable to cut things. Not only that, but this attack could cause the living organism it touched to decay and rot due to the characteristics of the transcendent energy.
The cut hit the very thing that the figure tried to protect, causing purple blood to splatter out from the injury. The Ether and the undead element reacted, causing more inconvenience for the figure.
While it did not explode right away, it caused a wound that was hard to heal. The figure hissed in pain while wildly swinging its arm to get Long Wu. Long Wu, on the other hand, was falling back using the movement skill.
But he also noticed that his energy consumption was quite high. He had about seventy percent of his energy left. He had to leave fifty percent for emergencies, so he only had twenty percent in reserve.
It was because Long Wu kept using his movement skill that consumed quite big of his energy, and added to that the attack technique, he was quite spent. But now that his attacks were showing results, Long Wu reduced his usage of his movement skill and dodged with his enhanced body alone.
The attack was easy to dodge because the attack pattern of the Gling figure in front of him was quite simple. Long Wu dodged while counterattacking, countering the claw attack with a slash at the hand of that figure.
‘The last attack should be my last. And I just found out about the vital point of the figure in front of me.’ Long Wu then proceeded to do what his instinct told him to do. Long Wu dodged another attack while being pressured by both the output of the energy and the use of a movement skill.
But this time, Long Wu moved to a location that the Gling did not expect. The radiating energy of the Gling was suddenly cut in two, as if there was an attack that could do it. It came from above his head and it was centimeters away from him the moment the figure lifted its head.
Corrupt Cut!
Long Wu used ten percent of his energy to launch this attack so the sharpness and the power behind this attack were formidable. The distance was also closed since Long Wu needed to launch this attack while also neutralizing the effect of the Ether around the figure’s body.
The attack came so suddenly that the figure could only lift its arm halfway before the attack landed on the top of its head. Then the attack cut through its physical form, continuing to go from the top of its head to the neck, then to the torso, before the figure’s body was split in two.
Long Wu also added by stabbing the figure’s supposedly heart since Long Wu had perceived its location when the figure let out the outburst of Ether. Long Wu used the remaining energy to do this stabbing attack, intending to end the Gling right there and then.
The attack connected since the figure became sluggish to respond to another attack that required quick reflex. Long Wu felt the Ether in the body of the figure was slowly devoured by the undead element, causing the undead element to multiply and propagate.
Long Wu then made sure that the Gling in front of him was truly dead before starting to extract the undead element inside. The Gling’s corpse turned slightly black due to the infestation of the undead element.
Long Wu then perceived that the creature in front of him was truly dead before he safely absorbed the undead element. It recovered the energy lost during battle, as well as increasing his strength slightly.
He then perceived the things around him and found out the destruction caused by the outburst of his power. Craters could be seen around the area where he fought and where the attack landed as well as a big cut that formed when he unleashed a cut attack. It formed a small crack on the ground but Long Wu then extended his senses to go further.
In the distance, he could perceive that other Transcendents were fighting against their opponent using their Core Formation Realm power. It shook the ground and the air as the clash between them caused the air to ripple and distort.
An explosion then occurred somewhere, causing the trees to fall down around there. Long Wu even looked in the direction and knew that it was the battle where Hecates was fighting his enemy.
Long Wu’s style was an outburst of penetrating attack so it would not cause too much to the area around him but there were others whose outbursts could give pressure to the ground and the air, destroying the area where they were.
‘The pressure of the Core Formation Realm is released outward. I need to help turn the tide of this battle!’ Long Wu then moved to the nearby transcendent who was in the middle of a fierce struggle with the Gling, which was on its four legs.
Long Wu came at the right time as he sliced the Gling from its head to its back, severing the body into two. He used three percent of his energy due to the familiarity with the attack technique and it was also an amazing cut. A black line formed and disappeared as Long Wu finished his move.
“Come, let’s help the other.” Long Wu said to the transcendent he had helped. Then they went in a different direction as it would help spread their help.
What started as a help from one turned to two. Then, after finishing the enemies, they went to reinforce their allies who were still in the middle of the battle with the Glings. As more and more transcendent beings helped the others, it turned the tide of the battle.
The black fog served as the battlefield but now that the tide had turned, the fog thickened and pressed the rest of the Glings who had Ether in their body to weaken in their performance.
“Finish them off!” Hecates swung his axe as he decapitated another Gling who was coming in his direction. Black lines formed and gone but the effects were good. The Gling were separated into two as its purple blood sprayed out onto the ground.
The cry from Hecates ignited the burning blood inside their bodies. They brutally eliminated the Glings and absorbed the produced undead element to recover and possibly increase their strength further.
More and more Glings had fallen to the might of the Transcendent Group. There were also corpses of the Gling swarm right at the group’s back because they were focused on dealing with the stronger foe.
Along with the battle cry, the sound of machine gun firing did not stop. It was still ongoing as the Gling swarm kept coming to their position. Even though the transcendent were concluding their battle, the swarm was still quite a lot that the machine gunners kept pulling the trigger until their bullets ran out.
The Transcendent Group then realized that all the strong opponents they had faced had already fallen. All that remained was the swarm which to them was no different from the source of their energy. Everyone had a target and Hecates did not prevent them from doing this.
A cleanup soon was done while the machine gunners at the defensive position as well as the soldiers who brought the ammunition, finally heaved a sigh of relief. They also saw the destruction that the Core Formation Realm expert had created in the forest.
It could be said that the devastation was thorough, as not even a tree was still standing and the ground moved like in a quake. All of the soldiers knew that they were definitely no match for that kind of power.
“What did I just witness?” one soldier in disbelief muttered.
“Is it possible that we can possess this kind of power?”
“They are like a walking bomb, no scratch that, like an atomic bomb. It is just that I think this is just a demonstration of power.” The other soldier commented.
They then checked the condition of the machine guns and found out that they were overheated and needed to be cooled down. The soldiers then knew that this was the perfect opportunity to do that, cooling the weapon down.
They watched as the Transcendent Group managed to wipe the swarm out of the area.
After the sweep, the Transcendent Group retracted the black fog and revealed the situation on their side. It was pure devastation as most of the soil came up and the trees were uprooted.
Then they visited the defensive position.
“How are you faring here?” Long Wu was the one who spoke to the Cerulean Defense Force here due to his familiarity with them.
“I-I’m fine, Imperial Tutor. No problem on my side.” The squad leader, who was also a machine gunner, spoke while trembling. He knew that the figure who spoke to him was an influential figure in the Qin Empire.
“Good. What about the supply for your weapon and logistics? Is that sufficient for you all?” Long Wu asked again.
“Enough! They are more than enough. But we need to check the situation on the west side. There are still shots being fired from their direction.” The squad leader replied before reporting the situation.
“I will go since I am the fastest.” Long Wu said to the squad leader. Then he also informed Hecates about it before he lifted off from his position and went straight to the west side.
Long Wu used his enhanced sense and felt that the situation in the west was not going so well. He had a hunch but until he went there, it was all just speculation inside his head.
This time he used the movement skill that increased his speed, looking like a shadow moving in the middle of the forest with leaves falling around. The leaves did not even manage to touch Long Wu despite their number as he neared the west side of the base.
‘As expected, it is a bit harder for them to deal with the swarm.’ Long Wu carried with him the equipment for a Transcendent in the Star Battle. A special rifle, a shield, a dagger and also a hidden weapon.
He only wore a black cloak to cover his leather armor beneath it. Despite the fact that he was not injured, it was still necessary for him to wear the equipment and Long Wu knew that it was for his own good.
The flying Glings and the swarm were still there as well as the Transcendents that the Glings had recently created were dealing with the Undead Race.
The Withering White Trees were supplying the undead with the undead element. The battlefield looked no different from where Long Wu had been before, full of black fog as well as corpses from the swarm of Glings.
Long Wu then proceeded to do what was a good thing: he had activated his stealth skill and blended into the black fog. He had found his target and decided to deal with it first.
The weakness? The same one as the one he had to deal with. Long Wu jumped to gain altitude before he used Corrupt Cut at the head of the Glings that was entangled with the Undead Knight, with its armor and sword hitting the Gling’s enhanced flesh.
The Undead Knight perceived this and its undead fire was flickering. Long Wu saw that the Gling was truly down before he looked at the Undead Knight and its flickering undead fire.
Long Wu used his enhanced sense to form a link with the undead and relayed his thoughts.
‘Help the other Undead. I will also help on the other part of this battlefield.’ Long Wu relayed, strengthening his will and relayed it through the connection of the undead element as well as his enhanced sense.
The Undead Knight then moved to the nearest battling undead while Long Wu went to the opposite side. The sound of metal clashing could be heard. Long Wu was sure that the Undead Race had some metal to be forged into equipment but the Gling…he did not know if they had something equal to metal to produce that effect.
Then Long Wu saw the Gling. It was different from the ones on the east side. It was the form that focused on its multiple limbs to deal damage. Its limbs were filled with sharp blades, not losing in terms of sharpness and durability with the metal equipment the Undead had.
The Undead Knight was overwhelmed by the multiple limbs and had to take a defensive posture.
Long Wu watched while waiting for an opening. Then the multiple limbs Gling focused on attacking the Undead Knight relentlessly, forcing the undead to use his sword as something to parry its attack.
Long Wu then finally moved. His target was the place where all the limbs were connected.
Another Corrupt Cut was executed, this time on the spine of the Gling. Black lines formed, making the flesh and blood it touched decay and rot. The Gling then slowly split into two, as if its weak point was used to end its life.
‘A new variety of the Gling…and also a new weakness.’ Long Wu then allowed the Undead Knight to absorb the undead element that multiplied in the corpse of the Gling before he moved to the next one.
“Hmm.” Zhask was naturally aware of the overall situation since his consciousness was connected to the Withering White Trees, sensing that Long Wu came to his side made him aware that the east side was handling the situation better than his side.
He was also avoiding a strike that came from a distance. He then used the undead element in the surroundings to bolster his power, enhancing his attack.
Several bone spikes appeared before being launched to a distant place. It was a barrage of bone spikes that were sharp and hard enough to cause casualties. But the casualties on Zhask’s side were also big.
Several Undead were even reanimated several times to handle the enemy transcendent units, giving it their all to at least hold them in place.
But sensing that Long Wu came and even identifying the weakness, letting the Undead Knight be able to help the other was a great boost to change the tide of the battle.
The more time passed, the more advantageous it became to the Undead Race. But Zhask and Long Wu noticed something that was bothering them. The scale of the attack could be said to be massive. It was no different than a giant beast stampede that usually happened every few years, so Long Wu knew that the Queen should be ordering a retreat.
Yet she kept telling the Gling to charge at them without minding the casualties. It was strange that the attack was a bit delayed but now that the Gling were battling against them like this, without care, was a bit unusual.
Even with the swarm tactic, it was used to exhaust the enemy’s supply, morale and capability to fight.
‘Is there something that we are missing or is there something that the Queen deemed important that we don’t know?’ Long Wu thought as he ambushed another unfortunate Gling.
Long Wu only used one strike to eliminate every Gling in his way. The Undead Race now had a numerical advantage that they could even overwhelm the transcendent Gling. He started to notice that there were races of Elves attacking near the place where Zhask was.
But by the time he arrived at the scene, he found out that the Elves had retreated, while Zhask managed to strike at the Gling in front of him with a devastating attack from all directions.