Hello, dear readers! Here's chapter 86! Two more chapters before the end of Book 1!
I've just finished correcting chapter 40 and updated every chapter on before that on Patre0n if you're interested. It's coming along so much faster now. Hopefully, I'll be done in a few weeks. I'll keep all of you posted.
Anyway, that's all for this week. See ya next week!
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Molvograd, Molkovia, Earth.
Demian's P.O.V.
Naturally, Demian would not truly ignore the massive lance aimed at his heart. While most of his attention was on delivering his own attacks, he still had a sliver of Divine Sense following the deadly weapon's trajectory. Instinctively, his upper body swerved to the right before being hit by the opponent's attack. Instead of reaching his heart, though, the Elemental Lance perforated his left pectoral muscles without stopping before slashing his ribs and left lungs hidden behind. The slicing attack only stopped when his left arm was completely cut off along with the disappearance of a big part of his left upper chest. His left lung was as good as gone and the foreign Elemental Energy had also mangled a third of his heart. And those were just the most serious injuries.
All in all, his physical state seemed tragic. However, Demian barely twitched from the excruciating pain and kept punching with his only fist remaining. This time, there was no one to save the other man. Despite the other man using his forearms to guard his head, the speed of the young man's punch did not decrease at all, bursting through the flesh and bones before ultimately reaching Pietr's head. Unsurprisingly, a burst of gore erupted from his previously intact skull, leaving him completely dead. A Low Second Level Foundation Building Cultivator actually died from the punch of a heavily injured Peak Seventh Level Chi Gathering Cultivator. Who could believe it?
'I did it!' He exclaimed inwardly as his physical stamina bottomed out instantly and a wave of weakness washed over him, leaving him incapable of moving a single finger. 'Fuck! That's gonna hurt, isn't it?' He thought wistfully while sensing his body dropping uncontrollably toward the ground. Before he could hit the ground, which would either worsen his already heavy injuries or straight up kill him, he felt some Shadow Elemental Energy wrapping gently over his body before slowly setting him down on the ground. Despite his consciousness turning slightly blurry, the familiar Energy told him what his Spiritual Will could not: Seraphine was around. Not only her, but he caught the attractive figure of Adeliya as well. "Take care of Dem, Mom. I'll go help Bryn." She then instantly dashed toward the intense fight happening in the air a few hundred meters away with her Sniper Rifle over her shoulder.
Despite her calm exterior, he could sense the tumultuous emotions surging in her heart through the Bond, making him feel slightly guilty. It was not just her, though, as the older redhead standing by his side seemed to experience similar emotions if her teary eyes and clenched fists were any indication. She also seemed to be confused as to what she should do to help, something that was apparent from her lifting her hands before putting them back down repeatedly. A surge of warmth appeared in his heart at her reaction, although it did nothing to alleviate his feeling of guilt, instead doing pretty much the opposite. It was not as if he would have done anything differently if he could do it again, but seeing one of the women he deeply loved being so heartbroken from the consequence of his own choice had a terrible effect on his mood.
Shaking his head inwardly, he decided as his mind had regained some semblance of clarity. 'Forget it for now! There are more urgent things to deal with.' Taking a deep breath, he felt a weirdly empty sensation in the left part of his chest where the upper part of his lung was slowly regenerating. "Liya." He whispered loud enough for her to hear him but low enough to not worsen his injuries. The woman who seemed to be in a strange daze shook slightly when his altered voice reached her ears. Immediately, her gaze fell on his face before she asked hastily. "Are you okay? I mean I know you're... I..."
Her awkward reaction almost made him chuckle. However, he understood how terrible of an idea that was and thus restrained himself. Instead, he reassured her before instructing her with a warm smile on his face. "I've been better but it's nothing I can't heal from. Could you get me my left arm lying there and put it close to where my left shoulder used to be?" His demand seemed to confuse her judging from her facial expression. Nonetheless, she followed his instructions without uttering a word, moving the relatively intact arm lying in a pool of blood a few meters away to place it on his left side. 'I can still feel my arm albeit a bit fuzzily, so I should be able to reattach it. If I'm correct, it should speed up my recovery by a lot.' He contemplated while observing the fight's development. 'With Sera's help, I should have enough time to heal up while growing stronger and go help them.'
His attention, however, was quickly attracted to Adeliya's muttering. "It's so strange..." Noticing her gaze's direction, he replied. "A bit freaky, uh?" At that point, one-third of his left lung had regenerated, the part of his heart that was mangled was half healed and his blood had stopped flowing out of his body. Those newly created parts seemed slightly different than the old ones, but Demian did not pay too much attention to the changes. Instead, his focus was on the slow recovery of his bones, something he had previously expected but which still bothered him. Thankfully, he still had his left arm intact, removing the need to regenerate a whole limb out of thin air. He did notice that the semi-liquid Elemental Energy he previously injected inside had dissipated, though. He guessed that it was the reason why his limb was still mostly whole.
"It's strange, sure... But it's mostly fascinating. I mean, I can see your skin, muscles, organs, and bones regenerate with my naked eye... It's like... Like..." She could not find the right word, but he had one ready. "Like magic." Nodding her head, she replied. "Exactly! It's like magic." Shaking his head slightly, he explained. "If you think about it, Cultivators are pretty much wizards with strong bodies. So, I guess calling it magic is appropriate." The innocuous conversation was a great way to distract him from the feeling of uselessness he was experiencing, a feeling that kept growing stronger as the fight between Bryn, Sera, and the other woman grew more and more frantic.
"I guess you're right, I..." Jerking slightly in surprise, her words were suddenly interrupted by a stronger shock wave coming from a few hundred meters away. Instead of looking in that direction, however, she continued speaking, although Demian noticed a slight quiver in her voice coupled with the tight clenching of her fists. "I'm... I'm glad you..." Seeing her forcing herself to look calmer than she felt inside, he could not help himself from interrupting her with some comforting words. "It's okay Liya. Bryn and Sera can definitely hold on until I get better. At that point, that woman won't be able to do anything against us, even if we can't defeat her."
His words elicited a strained smile from the woman who nodded and replied softly. "I'm just a bit worried." What an understatement! However, Demian did not comment on her words. Instead, he kept half of his attention on the battle and the other half on chatting with Adeliya, all the while waiting for his body to heal completely and his strength to grow sufficiently.
Molvograd, Molkovia, Earth.
Seraphine's P.O.V.
A few moments earlier, at the start of the battle. Seraphine sensed those three Foundation Building Cultivators preparing their respective Spells, all aimed at their group. Unlike others who were probably blinded by the Golden Blade Formation's powerful fluctuations, she also noticed the Elemental Thorns circling around the boulder hidden behind. With a quick calculation, she estimated that her sister should be able to deal with those without getting injured. As for Demian, she was not sure, so she decided to use two Shadow Veil Spells in case they were needed. One of them covered the group of Estate's Cultivators while the other one protected herself and her mother. If her lover were to need her protection, she would immediately sacrifice those Estate Cultivators without blinking an eye and transfer that Protective Spell to him. After all, she may be empathetic to other people's situations, but her kindness had its limits, which was her loved ones' safety.
With everything ready, she used every sliver of her Spiritual Will to track those Enemy Spells falling toward them. First was the Golden Blade Formation which was swiftly destroyed by Bryn's punch. What followed was what she truly worried about, though. As those Thorns stabbed Demian's body, she almost went berserk, thinking that he would be too injured to deal with the weakened Meteor still flying toward him. Thankfully, her Senses told him that, his vitality only dipped briefly before growing back quickly. 'is it because of his Perk...? That's ridiculous!' She thought as she noted how his seemingly heavy injuries were disappearing at lightning speed while his Energy fluctuations were clearly growing stronger. Thus enduring the weakened boulder's impact with his body was nothing too difficult.
At that point, she let out a relieved sigh. 'It's good that Dem can deal with those guys without my help. That way I can deal with those small fries with peace of mind.' Her gaze was directed toward those Chi Gathering Cultivators standing behind Danilov's back. Similarly to her own men, they were pretty much rendered useless in this battle between powerful Cultivators. Not only that, but they had to be protected as everything in a hundred-meter radius had some trace of destruction, whether it be the vegetation or the Front Building, although the latter still had its farthest part standing, unlike those hundred-year-old trees which were lying broken everywhere. All that devastation was only the result of accidental shock waves from the confrontation, displaying clearly how terrifyingly destructive a Cultivator could be.
'Although they're useless now, they can be dangerous if Sis, Dem, and I get too injured. It's better to get rid of them first.' She decided while maintaining her Shadow Veils over her group and observing Demian's figure stand up from the few-meter-deep pit he created a few meters away. When he looked at her, she made a small okay gesture before he dashed in Danilov's direction, obviously intent on removing the weakest link in the opposing trio. Seeing his action, she knew it was her turn to act.
With a quick sweep of her Divine Sense, she noted every High Chi Gathering Rank Cultivator in the enemy group before preparing her altered Sniper Rifle and starting to aim in one of the Peak Chi Gathering Rank. She then activated her Desolate Night Spell around the Weapon to muffle any noise, coated her bullet with her Shadow Void Elemental Energy to make it invisible to Spiritual Will's probes, and finally pushed the trigger. As soon as the curved metal piece hit the trigger guard's back, she felt a 'slight' pushback from the firearm. However, it was negligible considering her current bodily strength. At seemingly the same time, the head in her sights burst into a gory mess, ending the man's life and threat instantly.
Letting out a sigh, she aimed toward another target while thinking distractedly. 'Those novels were really lying. How can you even fight against someone stronger than you if you're not even capable of perceiving their attack, let alone reacting to it.' Another female Cultivator had her head explode into crimson fireworks. While moving to the next target, she observed how Demian kept receiving injuries after injuries from the Danilov/Pietr duo before healing and getting stronger. 'Well, he's a handsome freak, so it doesn't count. Plus, he can react to their attack, so...'
Shaking her head slightly, her Spiritual Will caught the look of terror slowly appearing on the opponent Chi Gathering Ranks after she silently ended the lives of two of them. 'So your minds are starting to catch up... It's pointless, though.' She coldly commented inwardly while shooting another bullet, blasting another skull into pieces. Being cold and methodical, she killed one Cultivator after another, without being disturbed by any external factors. Only when Demian cut Danilov into two pieces did she change her target to Pietr to distract him while her lover finished dealing with the dying man.
After a few shots toward Pietr, she felt bothered. Indeed, her bullets seemed to lose their 'invisible' state as soon as they reached a few meters from the man. That gave him the time to react to her attack, either by blocking the bullet with an Elemental Shield or simply dodging it. 'Strange! How can he...? Could it be through his Elemental Field?' She mused while ordering out loud. "Mom! Follow me and don't stop moving!" As soon as those words left her mouth she started moving erratically with Adeliya in tow while covering them with her Desolate Night Spell to hide their movements. Naturally, her pace did not go beyond the older woman's capabilities, not that it was needed anyway. After all, at that point in time, Demian had dealt with Danilov and had already started exchanging 'blows' with Pietr, using his attacks to grow stronger.
'If it goes on like this, Dem should reach the next Level quickly...' She thought happily before her Divine Sense reminded her of Bryn's situation. 'Sis can definitely take more hits than Dem but she doesn't have his ridiculous healing factor... I don't know how long she can hold on...' During the high-level battle, Roman, Anna, and Andrei led the group of Estate Cultivators to go on the offensive against the enemy Chi Gathering Cultivators a few hundred meters away. Unlike the two Foundation Building-level fights, the battle between Chi Gathering Cultivators seemed somewhat lackluster. In reality, it was not any less dangerous since a well-placed attack could reap one's life in a fraction of a second if one were to let down their guard. Especially with the difference in strength between the two groups. Fortunately, Sera's previous massacre and Roman's half-step Foundation Building power helped bridge the gap somewhat.
However, injuries still piled up for the weakest Estate Cultivators, eliciting a frustrated sigh from the Elven woman. 'So useless!' She exclaimed inwardly before turning her body toward them, aiming briefly at a brown-haired female cultivator with above-average features and pushing the trigger. The result was the same as before with the woman having her head explode in a crimson mess mixed with some brain fluid. 'It's really disgusting! Using Spells is much cleaner.' She complained inwardly while checking the injuries of the Male Cultivator she just saved. 'He'll live.' She concluded while resuming her distracting gunfire toward Pietr. 'Thank God I thought about bringing two bags full of ammo or I might have been in trouble.' She distractedly contemplated. As time passed by, she occasionally fired on those Chi Gathering Cultivators, saving a few on her side and instilling the fear of death in the enemies' minds.
It did not take too long for the rest of them to be slaughtered, leaving no casualties on their side. There were injuries, though, some of those Cultivators even having lost a limb. However, Seraphine's mind was not affected by it. After all, it was a fight to the death, and being alive was already a blessing. If it was not for her lover, her sister, and herself they would not even have that luxury.
'The Cultivation World is really ruthless... We really need to grow stronger quickly or we might end up like those weaklings and get toyed with or killed by some strong cultivators...' She pondered solemnly, understanding that if it was not for their current strength and Demian's abnormal Perks, Brynhild, Adeliya and herself would have probably ended up as sex slaves for that Pietr guy while Demian would have become that woman's toy. 'I really need to convince Mom to get Soul Bonded with Dem. Otherwise, she'll keep being a burden for herself and for us. I wish I could give her more time to make up her mind but... What if something happened and we aren't there to save her... Or she's used by one of our enemies to blackmail us... No! When we finish dealing with those two scums I'll talk to her!' Having made her decision, the worry she kept hidden in her heart was alleviated greatly.
However, her calm state of mind disappeared instantly when she felt a massive fluctuation coming from her sister's battlefield. Turning her 'eyes' in that direction immediately brought a solemn look to her face. 'Sis is in danger! I need to help her!' She exclaimed inwardly despite knowing she would not be able to help much due to the difference in Cultivation Base. After all, her specialty was in stealth and since the opponent was flying she would not be able to reach her. 'I might be able to distract her if I start using Spells but it'll drain my Energy reserve much faster though... Forget it! It's not like I've got a choice!' As soon as her decision was made, she dashed toward the battlefield further away.
As she was slightly distracted, she was not able to react in time to stop Demian's suicidal action against Pietr. The only thing she could do was dash below his body and use her Dusk Palm Spell to gently catch his body, or what was left of it. She then put him on the ground, knowing that his wounds would not become infected. After all, he did have a superhuman constitution and a broken Physiology Perk. Sensing his decreased vitality starting to surge back up, she understood he would be fine. However, she still felt terrible looking at his wounds. Taking a deep breath to calm her fluctuating emotions, she turned toward Adeliya and instructed firmly. "Take care of Dem, Mom. I'll go help Bryn." She then dashed in her sister's direction without waiting for her mother to say anything.
Time was ticking and death was approaching. The only question was: For whom?