OBS Chapter 4068 [The Withering Fire Ring]
Chapter 4068 [The Withering Fire Ring]
Chapter 4068 [The Ring of Withering Fire]
The sounds of steam whistles and bells echoed together, and amidst the billowing thick steam, the thirteen life rings of the "Bloodthirsty One" and the "Construct Master" simultaneously appeared behind them. Hermons smiled and asked:
"I heard you betrayed the Church of Creation? I didn't expect to hear such interesting news so soon after returning to the Old World. Now that you no longer belong to the Church of the True God, do you still want to fight me?"
The gentleman whom Shad had known since Coldwater Harbor said seriously:
“I have not betrayed the Church; I have simply chosen a different path from those in the Vatican. Bloodshed, you remain my enemy.”
"Don't be so serious. You only came here to collect life energy and transform it into a spark. We're no different. I admire your audacity in betraying the Church, but I also doubt whether you really left the only 'Spark Source' at the Holy See."
His tone suddenly became very low, like a snake hissing and flicking its tongue.
"If it's fake, then I expect you to show me your AllSpark now; if you really did something so stupid, you'll probably be the one staying tonight."
"Hermes, are you really this arrogant after your rebirth?"
The "Bloodthirsty One" laughed and tore open the front of his clothes:
"Don't you know how much enhancement the Spark Source can provide to a Ring Warlock?"
In the very center of the "Bloodthirsty One's" chest was a lifelike eye. As the spirit was activated, the eye was quickly ignited, until it formed a burning flame-shaped eye on his chest.
In the battle at the Papacy, one side used the AllSpark to give life to machines, while the other side used the AllSpark as the core to construct an energy shell. Now, someone has finally appeared who has chosen to directly fuse the AllSpark into their own body. Shad can even be certain that the spark in Hermons' AllSpark is also a "distorted spark of life."
With that burning, fiery eye as its core, the surging "flames" constructed simulated blood vessels within the Bloodthirsty One's body, pumping energy throughout his entire being, to the point that even the brass-colored life ring behind him showed mottled sparks of fire.
Flames clung to his body. This body, newly created through the [Creation Room], was extremely well-suited to the power of the life-seed. He even used an unknown method to isolate the power of the calamity from his soul.
This ring sorcerer, who was originally known as the "weakest thirteenth ring," is now in a much stronger state than the "construct master" Gerald Delon.
The latter took a deep breath, and amidst the rustling sounds, countless tiny metal parts crawled out of his clothes like ants. But this time, instead of constructing a separate mechanical golem, they attached themselves to his body, forming a strange mechanical armor.
"Miraculous Technique: Crimson Fury!"
Blood-red light, enveloped in flames, was slashed by the increasingly powerful "Bloodthirsty One" at the "Construct Master," who was already fully armored. It appeared to be just an ordinary strike, but after the deafening roar, the thirteenth-ring warlock from the [Church of Creation] was forced back amidst the ear-piercing scraping sound of metal against the ground.
His armor was torn apart, and after barely managing to stop, he even vomited blood. With this one blow alone, "The Bloodthirster" had proven that he was no longer the "weakest thirteen ring" from then on.
But the battle was not over yet—
Click!
The damaged armor was quickly repaired by the wriggling tiny gears, while the "Construct Master" placed a metal eye on his chest.
As he released his grip, the metal eye automatically adhered to the indentation in the chest area of the mechanical armor, and then a blinding crimson flame immediately spread from the source of the fire towards the entire armor.
"Helmons, if you want to prove yourself, then come on!"
Boom!
Flaming flesh collided with sparks-streaked armor in the sewage treatment plant, and the shockwave caused most of the plant's southeast corner to collapse.
Then, two fiery red figures flew out of the ruins into the night sky. With the dramatic changes in spirit and elements, the two peak-level thirteen-ring cultivators officially began their battle under the night sky on the edge of the outer city.
Meanwhile, amidst the factory ruins on the ground, the two professors from the [Truth Society] quickly evacuated, and Wei Ge, longing for news of her mother, led the ten-ring girl in pursuit.
Two traitors from the Church of Creation and three members of the Blood Spirit School clashed in the factory ruins, but the moment they exchanged blows, they both sensed another powerful force erupting from their sides:
"Miraculous Technique: Chaotic Residue!"
Boom!
In the flames, all five people were blown away at the same time. As they crawled up from the ruins, they saw the young man who had just taken the belongings walking towards them amidst the flying dust.
With each breath Shad took, crimson dots of light appeared around him and were absorbed one by one. The effect of [Life Regeneration] is better in an environment rich in life force. Although the current environment is not as good as [Blood Factory], it is at least much better than an ordinary environment.
The five people on both sides didn't immediately guess who the person in front of them was, but since Shad dared to make a move when both sides had thirteenth-ring warlocks, then this person must be someone not to be trifled with.
The wounded fled in different directions through the factory ruins. Shad abandoned the traitors of the church and pursued the three members of the Blood Spirit School. The three also separated and fled. Shad was unsure who possessed the "Vessel," so he chased after the tenth-ring warlock who was closest to him.
The exchange in the ruins was extremely brief. "Moonlight Thorns" blocked the passage in the narrow area, while the silver-white lightning spear broke through the opponent's defenses and blew open their heart.
Even with the so-called "new human" modification technology, the heart remains their fatal weakness.
After defeating his first opponent, Shad went to search for the remaining two, but in the end he only caught up with one of them. He froze time and used the blood-red moonlight to cut off his head, and found a fleshy eyeball full of life on his body.
This is indeed not the "Spark Source." The modified flesh and blood eyes have the ability to temporarily contain life energy, but this thing is far less valuable than the mark in Shad's palm.
In the air, the two thirteen-ring warriors fought more and more fiercely, showing no regard for the fact that they were not far from the Church of Creation.
Xia De ignored them and instead chased after Wei Ge and the others. After leaving the ruins, he quickly found the girls on the river outside the sewage treatment plant. Even the girl who had been guarding outside the factory had reunited with Wei Ge.
"Miss Pavo, the president of the Truth Society, appeared. She took the two away and exchanged information for my release."
Vige coughed softly, saying that this action was quite in line with Miss Pavo's style.
However, Vige didn't immediately reveal what she had discovered. Instead, she told Shad about the relic ring he had just seen:
"I heard my teacher mention that ring you got a long time ago—"
The Guardian-level relic, the Withering Flame Ring, can burn the user's life force to create flames, granting the user the ability to manipulate special life flames. Moreover, as long as it is worn, it grants immunity to most freezing effects.
The negative aspect is that the ring causes the life force of anyone who comes into contact with it to gradually wither away. Using the ring accelerates this process; only by actively withering the life force of others can one suppress their own withering. It can convert any normal life force into the power of withering, and with prolonged use, it gradually allows the user to subtly manipulate life energy.
"It inhibits freezing, but it causes life to wither."
Xia De looked at the ring in his hand and, to Wei Ge's surprise, put it on his finger.
The power of decay has no effect on him, and he will not use the power of this ring to ignite his own life force, which is a very inefficient behavior. However, the ring's characteristic of converting normal life force into "decay" attribute life force is very useful.
He said to Wei Ge:
“I want to stay and see how things go. The ‘Construct Master’ and ‘Bloodthirster’ are very valuable to me in terms of the use of ‘Spark’.”
Wei Ge didn't intend to retreat immediately; she was even somewhat excited:
"It's not something you often see these 13-ring members fighting each other. They said I'm ignorant because I don't participate in group activities, but this is a good opportunity to broaden my horizons. Of course, we can't retreat immediately, but let's leave from here first and not watch the show directly below the battlefield."
Vigo only received information from the [Truth Society], not the container they used to temporarily hold the "Spark of Life." The flesh-and-blood eye that Shad obtained could only serve as living material to hold life force for a short time; the life force would still dissipate over time.
Therefore, when Xia De left the sewage treatment plant with Wei Ge and the others, he temporarily transferred the life force in that eyeball to the brand on his palm for preservation.
Compared to any "Spark," the life energy contained in this eyeball is not particularly strong, but it should be enough for Shad to perform some spells involving life force.
In the night sky, two fiery red figures collided repeatedly amidst the sea of stars. The sewage treatment plant was located on the outskirts of the city, with few residents nearby, and the poor air quality made it almost impossible for anyone on the ground to see the two figures clearly.
Meanwhile, Xia De, Wei Ge, and the others, who had already moved to the rooftop of a building next to the riverside street, were able to clearly see the details of the battle between the two thirteenth-ring warlocks after casting a spell.
Hermons, the "Bloodthirsty One," directly used his body to receive the power of the AllSpark, which allowed him to better mobilize his life energy. At this moment, his entire body was covered with a phantom of flames, but the life energy within him was extremely unstable as a result.
The energy of the Spark Source from "Construct Master" Gerald Delon primarily affects the mechanical armor he assembles using tiny gears. Although the use of energy is not so direct, the power of the Calamity has almost no effect on the thirteenth-ring warlock's physical body.
PS: Mia's Ten Commandments:
[Transformation Ring]: Transforms you into a human, but you need to speak;
【Fish Training Ring】: Enables the user to speak, but the user cannot be a creature that enjoys eating fish;
[Vampire Ring]: Transforms you into a vampire, but you suffer from blood thirst.
[Plague Healer's Ring]: Resists thirst for blood, but non-human races suffer a short lifespan penalty;
The Ring of Immortality: Increases life, but also erodes emotions;
[A Caution Against Emotional Desires]: Storing up emotions leads to blindness;
【Crow's Eye】: Increases vision and causes crow feathers to grow;
【Ouroboros】: Restores the curse, which is stored in the tail and then falls off to form a clone;
[Ring of the Ice Heart Walker]: Suppresses inner demon clones and freezes non-ice ability users;
【Withering Fire Ring】: Immune to freezing, causing those who touch it to wither away.