Birth of the Demonic Sword

Many spikes stretched to create multiple branches as the centipede's angry screech resounded past the toxic substance. Hundreds of heads charged toward the eight experts and tried to overwhelm them with a superior offensive that relied on sheer power.

Steven stepped forward, and many branches converged toward his position. The expert took a deep breath before his domain expanded and forced the chaotic laws around him to create a world where only determination mattered.

The centipede was probably older than all the experts put together, but it remained a magical beast driven by hunger. The intelligence developed during its growth only applied to its hunting methods and techniques, but it didn't improve its overall tactics.

Many branches converged toward Steven and submerged its figure with their massive shapes. Even Noah would struggle to face such a powerful attack, but Steven only snorted when the various pincers failed to go past his skin.

The other branches flew toward the other experts, but the storms forced them to reunite when an azure glow spread through them. Pinpointing the source of that power turned out to be relatively easy. The centipede could see Divine Demon standing in an empty spot above the creature and controlled the suppressed copies of its body to shoot toward him.

Alexander appeared on their path, and his size increased as he activated another innate ability. Its purple eye disappeared as horns and claws grew together with his figure.

The many heads slammed on its growing figure and pushed him backward. Alexander spat blood and suffered internal injuries, but Divine Demon remained untouched due to his sacrifice.

Wilfred threw a few punches toward the branches trying to get past Alexander's defenses. His relentless offensive landed on those copies until they left Alexander's c.h.e.s.t and gave him time to breathe.

Noah waited for Sword Saint's signal to shoot ahead. Robert was covering the creature's main body with his toxic substance, and a wall of branches was blocking his path. He would never reach his target on his own, so he needed the expert's help.

Sword Saint closed his eyes as his sharpness gathered before his figure and gave birth to a minute rotating silver sphere. Noah couldn't help but feel astonished at that sight. He knew that technique far too well. It was the same ability that he had perfected during the last seclusion.

'He has also created a personal version of the technique,' Noah exclaimed in his mind as the Demonic Sword appeared in his grasp.

His companions were doing their best, so he had to do the same. He didn't want to reveal all his trump cards since Heaven and Earth were always watching. Yet, he didn't want to hold his abilities back either.

His ambition made his cultivation level grow until it crossed the halfway mark of the solid stage. His blades were ready to release a thrust, but he had yet to get a clear shot at his opponent.

Faces appeared on the dark aura that covered his blades, and multiple layers of dark matter and corrosive roots also formed around his weapons. He was ready to unleash an attack that contained most of his techniques, but he had to wait for Sword Saint to complete his offensive.

Sword Saint's ethereal blade shattered as its power flew toward the sphere. The orb didn't enlarge, but its might continued to increase as it fed on the expert's sharpness.

The expert eventually waved his hand toward a seemingly random spot behind him. A tiny slash appeared on the sphere that stopped rotating and pointed its opening toward the array of branches.

The metallic shards that made the creature's exoskeleton flew through the area. The storms would usually eat them, but they had remained stunned after Sword Saint's attack.

The massive attack threatened to make the group retreat, but King Elbas promptly threw a golden spear toward the massive shockwaves and forced it to detonate.

The explosion spread a golden radiance that made the shockwave freeze for a few instants. Noah's mental waves could expand forward at that point, and a path formed in his mind when he understood the amount of destruction that Sword Saint had created.

Noah shot ahead once the path formed in his mind. His figure materialized and disappeared as he flew among the shattered and wounded branches to reach the centipede's main body.

The shockwaves returned when Noah reached the main head, but his attack shot forward before they could touch his body. Two piercing slashes fell toward the creature and flew toward its head before disappearing all of a sudden.

Even the centipede remained surprised about that event. The attacks had been in front of its eyes just an instant ago, but everything had suddenly disappeared.

The creature felt tricked. It prepared to give voice to a loud screech, but it suddenly discovered that it couldn't speak anymore. Something was moving inside its body. The centipede felt an energy that its insides couldn't stop destroying everything contained by its exoskeleton and moving forward through the rest of its main figure.

The shockwaves hit Noah at that point, but he made sure to store his blades and expand a fiery dark world. Those attacks still shattered his dark matter and landed on his body, but their effects were far weaker at that point.

Noah shot forward while spreading his arms to use the chaotic laws to stop his momentum. He didn't care about the internal injuries that he was suffering. He preferred to suffer more wounds rather than getting lost inside the stormy regions.

Noah had used the Shadow Domain to teleport his slash inside the centipede's body. The recent exchanges had shown how the creature's internal organs were quite frail, so he had planned to end the battle in a single attack.

The piercing slashes carried many features. They had the parasite's corrosive energy, intense sharpness, the empowerment of his ambition and achievements, and fiery dark matter. They had even grown stronger after flying through the chaotic laws for a short distance.

The centipede couldn't defend its insides since the exoskeleton was the true asset of that magical beast. That incredibly tough material could protect the creature against powerful attacks and create hundreds of copies of its body. Yet, it couldn't do anything about its internal organs.

Noah's attack ran through the creature's insides and ravaged everything on its path. The centipede was immense, but the slashes didn't lose energy so easily. They successfully crossed the beast from head to tail while Noah did his best to stop his momentum.

The centipede fell after it turned into nothing more than an empty exoskeleton. The experts instinctively went after the creature and gathered right above the region with the red sand to inspect the outcome of their battle.

The creature was lying dead on the sand. The chaotic laws had even started to devour its exoskeleton already. The experts had defeated their first real opponent in the stormy regions, but the sheer might of the centipede made them feel worried about the rest of their journey.

After all, the centipede was only a rank 9 magical beast in the lower tier that lived at the edges of the stormy region. It was only normal for the insides of those areas to have stronger opponents.