Green Monster Epic

Chapter 574 Sculpture

The expanse of the ruins exceeded Allen's imagination, as if he had been transported to another world through a teleportation gate.

Even at the running speed of a legendary powerhouse like Allen, a full three magic hours of flight still didn't reveal any boundaries, which surprised him.

What made Allen feel even more peculiar was that, apart from the sparse vegetation, there were few animal figures to be seen in this vast wilderness, and the surroundings were always eerily silent.

On the distant horizon, a small raised area suddenly appeared.

As Allen gradually approached, a majestic, steep, and towering mountain peak appeared in Allen's field of vision.

The highest point of the mountain was constantly shrouded in a layer of white mist, as if reaching directly into the depths of the endless starry sky, making it impossible to see its true face.

However, the grayish-white stone staircase extending upwards from the foot of the mountain clearly wasn't formed naturally, and this was the first trace of artificial construction that Allen had seen since entering the ruins.

At the very least, Allen hadn't forgotten the purpose of his trip, but in his mind, he subconsciously overlooked certain things, such as the existence and encounter with the dragon Figglas, and the fact that he had once been a ruthless killer.

Originally, with Allen's personality, if he still remembered what had happened before, he would have been extra careful in his actions.

But now, when he saw this road leading directly to the cloud-shrouded mountaintop, Allen didn't hesitate at all, drawing the Bone Cleaver from behind him and flying over.

It wasn't until he reached the edge of the white mist that Allen finally regained some semblance of caution, slowly landing on the steps that ran through the mountain peak, placing the Bone Cleaver in front of him and gazing up at the steep path.

"Base creature, how dare you set foot in His Majesty's sanctuary, you shall die!!!"

The moment Allen's legs landed on the steps, a loud and majestic voice suddenly boomed from the clouds.

As soon as the voice started, a semi-illusory figure with a pair of wings flapping behind him, holding a long lance, launched a thrust directly at Allen from a high position.

Clang!!

The attacker's speed was astonishing, even faster than Allen's.

After several unsuccessful attempts to dodge, Allen simply used the Bone Cleaver's broad blade as a shield, directly withstanding the opponent's attack head-on.

The opponent has the strength of a quasi-legendary, with excellent speed and agility, but weaker strength...

Forced to slide down the mountain for more than ten meters by the impact, Allen suddenly exerted force with both arms to push the opponent away the moment the opponent's thrusting force was exhausted.

At the same time, his feet stomped hard on the steps, and with the sound of several steps cracking, the Bone Cleaver carried Allen back to kill the retreating target.

The opponent, like a ghost, fanned up clouds of mist with his wings, blocking Allen's vision, while the lance in his hand was like a poisonous snake lurking in the shadows, constantly launching stabs at the vital points of Allen's body.

Under the movement of Allen's wrist, the Bone Cleaver nimbly shifted and blocked in a small area, relying on the suppression of strength to dissolve the incoming spear shadows one by one.

When the distance between the two sides was shortened to a suitable opportunity, his right foot tapped in the void, activating the Misty Steps technique, causing his entire person to split into three illusory directions, surrounding the target in front.

Pfft! Pfft!!

The phantoms on the left and right were torn apart by several long spears that suddenly pierced out of the clouds.

Allen's eyes narrowed slightly as his real body was located directly in front, but the Bone Cleaver in his hand didn't hesitate to slash out, slashing at the target in front.

The winged humanoid deftly flapped its wings and leaped into the sky, thinking it could avoid the range of the heavy sword's attack, but unexpectedly, a blade of energy suddenly emerged from the Bone Cleaver's blade, immediately widening the attack range of the blade.

Swish!!

The huge energy wind blade brushed past the humanoid ghost, and the humanoid's translucent figure was directly split into two pieces of different sizes, while the aftermath of the wind blade continued forward, leaving a deep and long gully on the mountain peak.

Clang! Clang! Clang clang!!

The Bone Cleaver swept horizontally, splitting away five lances, while also causing the five humanoids who suddenly appeared to briefly lose their balance under the sweep, waving their wings to fly obliquely to the left and right to unload the force.

"Hmph!!"

After easily sweeping away the attacks, Allen let out a low, cold snort, and then twisted his bear waist.

The Bone Cleaver drew an arc from behind and then swept over with a super-heavy blow, directly targeting the two opponents on the left.

Out of the corner of his eye, the translucent figure of the humanoid that he had split in two was actually slowly starting to heal, which made his eyes become a bit more somber, but the movements in his hands didn't delay at all.

Boom!!

The horizontal sweep didn't hit the target, and three spears on the right intersected to block the Bone Cleaver.

The two humanoids who received the response from their companions fanned their wings behind them, and their entire bodies flew into the air, quickly holding their spears and diving down to stab at Allen.

The humanoid who had initially appeared in the distance had already recovered, carrying his lance and killing his way back again.

Apart from the fact that his translucent body was a bit fainter, there were no traces of being slashed at all, which added two more wrinkles to Allen's brow.

After another long period of fighting, Allen relied on his superior strength to leave deep wounds on these opponents time and time again.

However, before long, the injuries on the opponents' bodies would slowly disappear until they were restored to their original state, just like the undead creatures he had once dealt with, except that these opponents didn't have the cold aura and negative energy accumulation of undead creatures.

Whoosh!!!!

Violent rage burst forth from between his bloodlines, rapidly pouring into the dark gold Bone Cleaver, instantly causing a layer of blazing energy flames to be attached to the Bone Cleaver's blade.

Now Allen's vision and knowledge are already vastly different from what they used to be.

Although this was the first time he had fought against the humanoids in front of him, through observation and understanding of their characteristics, Allen already had a bit of an idea in his mind about how to kill them.

When the fire sword formed by the flames of rage slashed at the opponent, Allen clearly felt the opponent's apprehension towards the flames, which further strengthened Allen's conjecture, and the movements in his hands were even more ruthless.

Although they occupied the advantage in number and agility, the gap in strength between each other allowed Allen to quickly take control of the situation after he became familiar with the opponent's fighting style.

Perhaps because there was indeed something precious on the mountain peak, the six humanoids in front of him, even though they knew the gap in strength, had no intention of fleeing or withdrawing, which saved Allen a lot of trouble.

After the Bone Cleaver was attached with the flames of rage, every time it left a wound on the opponent's body, the flames formed by the rage would stick to the humanoid's wound, burning the opponent's seemingly intangible body.

Allen could feel that every time the opponent's body extinguished the flames of rage on its body, the body would become more and more transparent, and its strength would gradually decline.

Poof!!

When one of the humanoids' bodies was torn apart by the Bone Cleaver again, this time the opponent's body didn't split into two pieces, but instead exploded as a whole with this slash, forming a small energy storm, setting off a gust of wind, and disappearing from sight.

The other Featherfolk remained unmoved, still relentlessly entangling Allen. However, with their already existing disadvantage, now lessened by one companion, they found it even more difficult to contend with Allen. Ultimately, under Allen's repeated assaults, they transformed into a gust of clear wind, dissipating into this world.

The Bone Cleaver 'clang'ed as it was thrust into the shattered steps. Allen stood on the mountain path, his expression unchanged and his breathing steady, his sharp gaze directed straight at the cloud-wreathed summit. This seemingly intense battle didn't expend as much energy as it appeared for the current Allen. With Allen's strength, even a fierce battle lasting ten days or half a month might not exhaust his stamina and energy.

It was just that the form of these opponents was somewhat troublesome. They lacked vital weak points, and Allen's own energy wasn't an absolute counter to them. He could only slowly wear down the energy within them. Coupled with their advantages in agility and coordination, if there were more of them, Allen might have had to temporarily evade their attacks.

After resting for a short while, Allen raised his head and stood up, climbing upwards without looking back, until his figure disappeared into a faint white mist.

Along the way, waves of Featherfolk undead-like creatures continued to block Allen's progress. As he became more familiar with the characteristics of these creatures, Allen became more at ease when killing them. On the contrary, the steps leading upwards seemed to stretch on endlessly, and because of the enveloping white mist, Allen was completely unable to estimate how long he had been traveling.

The journey gradually became monotonous. Although Featherfolk undead creatures occasionally caused trouble, once Allen became familiar with their fighting style and the vast difference in strength between them, the battles ceased to evoke any excitement or intensity in Allen.

… …

Thump!!

A giant fist, comparable to Allen's height, smashed down on Allen's head. The Bone Cleaver reflexively cleaved at the fist, and Allen, supporting himself with his left hand on the sword's back, was sent flying into the air by the impact. The owner of the giant fist, a construct creature whose height rivaled that of an adult giant, was also pushed back a couple of steps by the impact.

After regaining its footing, the construct creature once again brandished its enormous arms, its two metal-crafted palms transforming into two large nets, enveloping Allen.

Allen, who had been sent flying a dozen meters, stabilized himself almost simultaneously with the construct creature. He lightly tapped the void with the Ripplewalk, his figure constantly shifting and changing direction like a ghost, dodging the opponent's arm attacks while simultaneously aiming a Triple Wave strike at the construct's joints.

Ding!!

The somewhat dim and rusted metal fittings were more robust than Allen had imagined. Allen's powerful strike failed to damage its structure. As the opponent retracted its forearm, Allen could only counter with a sword, forcing the two sides to separate once again.

The prolonged stalemate caused the surrounding clouds to churn. Allen was indeed somewhat troubled by the difficulty of the construct before him, but according to the changes in light and darkness within this misty area, he had been here for nearly four days. The appearance of a new combat opponent at least indicated that he was indeed gradually approaching the summit, rather than being lost in an unknown, repeating space.

The giant construct creature's strength was decent, almost able to contend with the dragon Figglas. In particular, its seemingly rusted metal shell made its defense formidable. Fortunately, Allen was a strength-based and heavy-weapon-specialized warrior, otherwise, ordinary professionals might not be able to inflict much damage on it.

The parts on the construct creature's body scattered and fell to the ground. Several joints in its limbs gradually deteriorated under the repeated strikes of the Bone Cleaver, losing their ability to attack and move. Accompanied by a dull thud, the construct giant's massive body collapsed in this chaotic square.

Allen, panting heavily, leaned on the Bone Cleaver, his eyes fixed on the torso in front of him, which still emitted the creaking sound of metal gears, ready to respond to any possible changes. Time, the invisible killer, was impartial to all objects. Even for a construct like the one before Allen, which couldn't be considered a living being, the corrosion of time had severely degraded its strength. Allen fully believed that the original, intact construct giant's strength should have been comparable to a demigod or even a Saint-level being, but now it was barely at the peak of the Legendary mid-stage.

Of course, Allen should also be grateful for the construct giant's diminished strength, otherwise, he would not have been able to continue moving forward. This would have meant that the purpose of his adventure would ultimately be unfulfilled.

Dragging the Bone Cleaver, he climbed onto the still-twitching construct torso, aiming at the most heavily armored part of the construct's chest. Allen once again began the work of destruction, until a precise magical device, radiating magical aura, was revealed at its core and carefully removed from the construct by Allen. Only then did this construct giant's torso, missing its limbs and head, truly become a pile of dead matter.

After sealing the construct core and storing it in his dimensional bag, Allen looked at the giant's remains on the ground, estimated to weigh hundreds of thousands of pounds, with both joy and regret. If these metal remains could be transported back to the fortress, it would be an immeasurable fortune for the Greenwood Tribe.

However, with the space in his dimensional bag, he could only transport a few hundred pounds of the remains at most, or even less. Most of the rest would probably have to be abandoned here, which could not help but make Allen feel regret.

Quickly sorting everything out, stuffing as many spoils as possible into the dimensional bag, Allen set off again, heading deeper into what should be considered the mountaintop platform.

Sure enough, the location of the construct giant was the summit. Although shrouded in a vast mist, making it impossible for Allen to clearly discern his direction, the area of the mountaintop platform was actually not that vast. After Allen wasted a few magic hours, he finally encountered a magnificent and exquisite sculpture.

It was a statue that seemed to possess vibrant life. Wisps of mist transformed into pure white ribbons and skirts, forming the ornate formal gown of the statue's exterior, constantly changing its shape. Although only a single color entered the eye, it seemed to be kaleidoscopic, dazzling and luxurious.

The statue's face was not to be looked upon directly, or rather, even with Allen's sharp eyes, he could not discern its true appearance at all. He only felt a pair of burning, yet kind and warm eyes, meeting his gaze and greeting him.

Although Allen didn't know the true identity of this statue, it seemed as if an invisible voice within him was telling him that the owner of this statue was none other than the great deity of ancient times—the Goddess Mansha.

Slightly bowing, Allen solemnly saluted the statue before him. This was his respect for the deity, even though it was actually just an inanimate statue.

Since the goddess statue had appeared, it meant that the ruins were not far away from him. As Allen slowly bypassed the goddess statue, searching northward along the statue, he soon discovered a magnificent temple building, as expected.

It seems that I really can't be idle. It's been almost two months since I last wrote a book, and now that I suddenly pick it up again, I always feel like I can't get to the point, even though I have a general outline for the main storyline in the later stages.