Chapter 1076 (2/2)

Once the formation fell apart, it became that much easier for the Nether Beasts to pick off the stragglers.

Dammit… Some part of Randidly wanted to go assist with the fighting, but for all that he was delighted by the healing from his cores, it was a gradual thing. It would be quite some time before Randidly was safely away from devolving into an image blob. And that was exactly what he would become if he was overstrained at the moment.

Sure, he could kill things as an image blob, but all of the growth he had so carefully experienced since arriving at the battlefront would collapse into nothing. Which wasn’t even considering the damage that the main body might experience if the Grim Chimera image that Randidly held was destroyed.

For all that the main body had been pissing him off, Randidly didn’t want to be the cause of such a blow against it. Beyond the battlefield there was still the Earth and the System; he couldn’t afford to lose here.

While trying to turn a deaf ear to the intense fighting continuing behind him, Randidly glanced down at Vualla in his arms. It was difficult to carry Vualla in a comfortable position with one of his arms being a long bone spear and the other one being an oversized claw. Still, Randidly did his best with his arms and used his larger lower tail to wrap around Vualla’s waist and keep her relatively secure.

She was breathing peacefully, blissfully unaware that her soldiers were fighting and dying around her. Her braid had begun to come slightly undone, so several strands of azure hair fell down along her strong jaw. And strangely, Randidly felt slowly easing into a smile as he looked down at her. A moment passed then, completely isolated from the frantic death around them. Randidly felt some tension in his chest ease somewhat as he saw that Vualla remained alright despite their frantic flight.

As long as she is okay...

With gleeful eyes, Randidly raised his head once more. Another soldier had disappeared in the rain of Nether Beasts; there were now only six of them remaining with Randidly and Vualla both so out of commission that they couldn’t assist with the continued threat of Nether Beasts. Above and below their rapidly moving convoy thick trunks of blue veins spiraled outward like geysers of water.

These two thick geysers ran parallel with their group, both hemming them in and forcing them forward. And the Nether Beasts were the droplets of moisture that dripped off of these geysers and rushed toward the group in uncountable numbers.

Fortunately, whatever transformation that enabled Kel’ev to resist a Nether Well directly also transformed him into a killing machine. He was more shadow than even the Grim Chimera as he flitted back and forth and ripped forcibly through the Nether Beasts that were massing around the group. The other soldiers really just needed to clean up the scraps; it was only by Kel’ev’s will that they had made it this far.

Randidly also couldn’t help to note two facts: the first was that the strange transformation had progressed past just Kel’ev’s arm. Now his entire torso had inflated and was bristling with orange-tipped quills. Second, and even more shocking, Randidly couldn’t feel even the slightest hint of an image from him as he went about his deadly work.

An image was clearly present; the Nether Beasts were reduced to dust just by the ambient image of his presence as he passed near them. But such was the tight control that Kel’ev kept over his image that none of it seeped toward Randidly.

In a way, it was just as impressive as Vualla’s enormous show of power.

Randidly released a hissing breath between his teeth as he continued to hurtle forward through the Great Rift. His senses expanded rapidly to check their progress.

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Sensation (L) has grown to Level 34!

Randidly’s eyes opened once more. They had already punched through the middle portion of the base and were moving to areas that had less abundant Nether. But all of these areas were covered in blue veins which meant that the ambushes wouldn’t be slowing anytime soon.

And even worse than that…

ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAARRRRRR!

Everyone shuddered and slowed as a wave of concentrated rage blasted outward. Hundreds of blue veins spiraled down about two hundred meters directly in front of them and formed a strange pulsing sigil in the air. Nether began to rapidly rush forward to support the strange working.

“We need-” Kel’ev began, but the portal opened before he could finish.

Two long tentacles as thick as a tree trunk that ended in brutal obsidian spikes slithered through the sudden opening. Nether gushed out like air conditioning from a department store, quickly affecting the surrounding area. Then the Nether Gatekeeper began to heave the rest of his body out into their path.