Chapter 350: Despair (1/2)

In just the blink of an eye the diminutive leader turned into a huge monstrosity reaching over 3 meters, whose bulging muscles would put even Billy's constitution to shame. Even the large wound from [Verun's Bite] was gone, the axe pushed out of its body as the wound closed in an instant. Even the expensive-looking exoskeleton had been discarded as it was bent into scrap metal from the alien's expansion.

Odder yet he had turned into an amalgamation of metal and flesh as parts of him had turned into that of a robot. Zac didn't understand how, but the dying Technocrat had turned into a cyborg teeming with immense power. Even Zac felt threathened from just standing in front of the hulking figure, something he hadn't felt for a long time. Something told Zac that this wasn't some ultimate technique by the Technocrat himself, as his face lilted listlessly to the side and his eyes were empty.

The foreman had warned him about reprisal, but Zac didn't expect it to be so direct. He felt the situation was turning bad, and he immediately unleashed a round of attacks on it, holding nothing back. But metallic clangs and deep thuds were all that could be heard when the axehead hit the Technocrat’s muscled torso, only leaving scuff marks behind. Zac couldn’t believe it was so durable that he wasn't even able to leave a shallow wound.

He didn’t give up though and unleashed one ferocious strike after another across the brute’s body in hopes of finding a weak spot. But danger suddenly screamed in Zac's head as a fist as large as a wrecking ball slammed into him with such speed that he didn't have time to even blink.

The power of the punch was enough to shatter all the spectral chains still binding the Technocrat in an instant, and Zac was launched into the air with such speed that it looked like he was teleported away. The enormous shockwave swept all the corrosive mists in the area away as well, exposing the decomposing corpses of the cultivators on the ground.

It felt like his whole body was broken, and it only got worse when he slammed into one of the towers from [Profane Seal] with enough power to cause a large crack running along its whole length. Black ichor ran down his mouth as Zac desperately crawled back to his feet only to see the monstrosity treating his entrapment as a joke.

Alarm bells were going off in Zac's mind, and every fiber of his being was telling him that this was not something he could contend with. He frantically tried to figure out what to do next, but the cyborg wasn't waiting for Zac to come up with a strategy. A huge shockwave exploded out from where it stood as the cyborg disappeared from sight, only to appear right in front of Zac once again.

This time Zac was somewhat ready and he barely managed to duck out of the way from another world-ending fist that instead tore the miasmic tower apart. It almost looked like the extremely sturdy structure was made out of styrofoam as it shattered and dissipated into churning mists of Miasma.

The destruction of the tower was the straw the broke the camel's back, and [Profane Seal] started to crumble. All the chains were already broken which had damaged the other towers as well, and with one tower utterly destroyed the shield was already down for the count.

Luckily the fight outside had mostly ebbed out as well, with Ogras dismantling the last remnants of the Technocrat army. The demon seemed to be in good vigor, though his clothes were completely burned and the side of his face was covered in a large scorch mark. Verun was nowhere to be seen though, but that quickly changed as the large beast appeared out of nowhere and chomped down on the towering cyborg.

Verun didn't have much better luck than Zac did though despite its furious attempts to rip his master's enemy to shreds. The Tool Spirit's large fangs couldn't even break its skin. The cyborg only stoically stood there acting like it couldn't feel a thing until it slammed its hand in a ferocious overhand slap that hit Verun's head.

The Tool spirit Yelped in pain and was forced to let go, at which point the cyborg unleashed yet another of its terrifying punches. Verun was utterly helpless as it turned into motes of light that fled into Zac's axe. Thankfully Zac could still sense the Tool Spirit in his axe, though it immediately entered hibernation after getting destroyed.

If Zac's heart had been beating in his current form it would have been hammering away at this moment as he gazed upon the Cyborg. Something unfathomable was happening with it. It was as though the monster had gained over 20 levels in just a few seconds, and its towering aura had more than doubled since it attacked Zac the first time.

Futility threatened to consume him as Zac scrambled for any idea of getting out of this mess. The cyborg didn't seem to possess any skills or Dao Seeds, but it also didn't need it due to its ungodly power. It was like a supercharged version of Zac himself, a true testament of the horror of superior attributes.

There was a small remnant of the technocrats sticking close to the Nexus Hub. They had likely tried to escape Earth but was blocked due to Zac's interference. But the group seemed emboldened from the turnaround in the battle and they rushed toward Zac in an effort to assist their foreman in taking him down. Zac had no time to bother about them, so he could only infuse his body with the Seed of Hardness as he kept his eyes trained on the true threat.

Another apocalyptic punch soared toward Zac who desperately activated [Immutable Bulwark]. An earthshattering explosion echoed out across the area when the fist connected, and Zac realized the power was well beyond that of the first strike. He wasn't sure he would still be in fighting condition if the first fist contained this amount of force. Even the extremely hard stonebed cracked all around them from the attack, a testament to its immense power.

The unlucky Technocrats who had wanted to fish in muddy waters were rendered into meat paste just from the shockwave. They died without knowing what happened, likely thinking that the foreman was still on their side. But Zac knew that this thing had no such alliances. The former foreman had turned into an emotionless tool of slaughter upon his death.

Zac's eyes widened in alarm as the punch caused massive cracks across the bulwark. Neither Salvation's self-detonation nor the laser beams of the two enormous mechas had been enough to cause a crack in his defensive wall, but one simple punch from this thing was all it took. But just as Zac despaired a huge form materialized and punched into the chest of the cyborg.

It was [Deathwish] that activated, and the force was tremendous even though it only contained a part of the original strength of the attack. This became especially true after Zac managed to imbue the spectral projection with the Dao of Heaviness with some quick reflexes. The Cyborg was launched into the air, flying tens of meters away before slamming into the ground with a large bang.

”What the hell is that thing?” a shocked voice asked from the side.

Zac looked over to see Ogras standing there, staring at the cyborg with horror in his eyes.

”A cyborg, a mix of man and machine,” Zac sighed. ”The foreman turned into this thing just as I was about to kill him.”

”Mix of man and machine? That's Impossible,” Ogras said with a shake of his head. ”The heavens won't allow such a thing.”