Night Demon's Dragon-Slaying Curse
Although Oligan doesn't need weapons, he can shatter massive meteorites with just his bare hands.
But whether or not a soldier has a suitable weapon makes a completely different difference.
When Oligan leaped and shattered the meteorite, he was merely a blur; but now, as he gripped his weapon and swooped down towards the earth, he transformed into a fierce and dangerous bolt of deep blue lightning! "Thank you, Your Excellency!"
After landing, Oligan took a deep breath and raised his head to speak.
He gripped the Thunder Strike Halberd tightly in both hands, showing great affection for it.
As a warrior proficient in polearms, he possesses the ability "Weapon Mastery: Polearms." The moment he grasps this weapon, he instantly understands all its capabilities.
Just as Oligan had wielded this weapon on countless battlefields in the past, all sorts of techniques and tricks for using it instantly flooded his mind.
"What a powerful halberd!"
He exclaimed in admiration, "Not only does it possess such powerful storm and thunderous force, but it also has the power of punishment that only Punishment Demon can possess!"
Just like Sword Saint who had always used ordinary iron, one day finally obtained a holy sword that could support his swordsmanship—
He had clearly been able to fight the giant to a draw, and even far surpass him in skill, but he was at a disadvantage because of the inferiority of his weapon. This made Oligan very resentful.
And now...
"If I had it... I might be able to defeat that giant!"
The thought popped into Oligan's mind.
He has a rather reserved and cautious personality.
When such a thought crossed his mind, it meant victory was practically assured! He followed closely behind Iver, who was flying through the sky, transforming into a nimble streak of lightning, weaving through the still-burning, smoky dense Dense Forest. He plunged into the heart of the battlefield, where meteorites were relentlessly bombarding the ground, causing it to tremble violently like a trampoline!
At that moment, Night Demon caught Utgarda-Loki's Charge Slash and was sent flying backward. A crimson bolt of lightning descended from the sky and struck the Wildfire Giant Utgarda-Loki.
Utgarda-Loki let out a low groan of pain mixed with pleasure, and his entire body swelled up further.
His height of over ten meters was already considered tall among the giants. Now, his height has increased rapidly, by at least four or five meters, reaching a height of nearly twenty meters.
For a race of giants whose height equals their strength, this is equivalent to an increase of about one-third of their base stats. The dark red flames burning on his body grew even more intense, and he now looked like a world-destroying demon king—a humanoid monster nearly twenty meters tall, burning with dark red flames capable of melting metal, and with bulging muscles all over his body.
Let alone eliminating him... even attacking him is beyond their capabilities. Just getting close enough to him would result in a scalding heat; and if you were to touch the "wildfire" flowing over his skin, any spell, curse, or metal would disintegrate.
Only in the instant he and the Night Demon attacked each other—
The moment Utgarda-Loki's attack struck Night Demon, Night Demon's curse was also pulled to a point of close proximity where it wouldn't be burned away by the wildfire.
That's why the Night Demon's curse struck him successfully at that time.
—That's a high-level curse called the [Implosion Curse]!
It's called the "Dragon-Slaying Curse" because it's a curse used only against large creatures like dragons. It places a curse inside a large target, and each time the creature is effectively attacked and feels pain, the curse inside absorbs that pain, grows larger, and makes the target's exterior more vulnerable.
And eventually, when the curse expands to a certain extent, it will continuously draw power from the body, expand rapidly, and then explode with a bang!
Just as Utgarda-Loki, having received the divine enhancement, was about to continue his pursuit of the Night Demon, whose wings were bent and which was flying backwards,...
A wild bolt of lightning rolled across the ground—
"... It's you?"
Utgarda-Loki keenly recognized the completely different aura of Oligan.
He reached out, wanting Oligan to grab it.
Oligan's heart tightened immediately.
—The giant's movements were agile, skillful, and mysterious, completely different from his clumsy wielding of the long-handled giant axe! Only then did he realize why Utgarda-Loki had abandoned that extraordinary giant axe that could withstand his flames and match his size.
So the giant's specialty was unarmed combat? Oligan's charge abruptly stopped; he raised his halberd and used the tip to interrupt his own charge.
The moment he slowed down, he missed Utgarda-Loki's grab.
Oligan then twisted his body, leaped up, and struck! The blade in his hand suddenly slashed down, accompanied by a burnt smell and lightning, heavily slashing at Utgarda-Loki's outstretched right hand!
In the blink of an eye, Oligan's figure, like a strange phantom, gracefully drifted away from the trajectory of his full-speed charge, separating from Utgarda-Loki in a split second! Crack!
When the halberd blade met the finger, there was no tearing sound, but rather a loud noise like that of an electric cutting machine.
No one expected that Utgarda-Loki's originally tough skin would be as fragile as butter in front of the Thunder Strike Halberd! The lightning crackled and spread from within Utgarda-Loki's skin.
Blood splattered, and two of Utgarda-Loki's fingers flew high into the air—
Under the influence of blood pressure, the wound spews out scorching, toxic flames like a high-pressure water pipe.
Not only Utgarda-Loki —even Oligan was surprised by the effectiveness of his attack. Both of them were momentarily stunned.
Iver, however, understood why.
He also remembered how the future Utgarda-Loki became Cardinal Loki—
After he confessed his sins, the candle keeper gave him a chance. He allowed him to transform his sins into thorns and ignite them with his own wildfire.
The sinful thorns were so dense and numerous that they sprouted continuously for three whole hours, causing Utgarda-Loki to be burned to death by himself more than ten thousand times.
If one death is considered "one person's share of sin," then Utgarda-Loki carries at least ten thousand shares of sin.
Utgarda-Loki, who is still the Patriarch of the Supreme Heaven, would not voluntarily transform his sins into sin thorns... but he still possesses this immense "power of sin"! — The "punishment" property of the Thunder Strike Halberd is specifically designed to counter this power!
Although he didn't understand why the weapon was so effective against Utgarda-Loki, Oligan didn't miss the opportunity.
In an instant, Oligan split into six phantoms, which, along with his true body, slashed at the giant's body from seven different directions! —Sevenfold Slash!
In an instant, six bolts of lightning flashed from different directions and shot straight into the sky! Utgarda-Loki's body swayed as he was struck one after another by invisible heavy blows, and blood gushed out like waterfalls!
The curse from the Night Demon makes Utgarda-Loki's body more and more vulnerable the more it is injured.
As the sixth blow landed, Utgarda-Loki's face suddenly contorted in pain.
His belly was swollen high, as if he were ten months pregnant.
"Ah..."
He cried out in pain.
But he could barely utter a cry of pain. His body swelled up as if inflated, making it difficult for him to move.
Utgarda-Loki keenly sensed the source of the curse.
He looked at Night Demon.
The Night Demon looked at him with a cold smile.
Before her was a disc that seemed to suck up all light like a black hole, and the Night Demon's left hand was placed inside, continuously pouring his cursed power into it.
Meanwhile, on the other end...
Utgarda-Loki suddenly realized what was happening.
... Presumably, the other end must be connected to one's own body!
The instant he knocked the Night Demon away, the Night Demon had already left a mark on his body. Now, the Night Demon doesn't even need to get close to him again to continuously catalyze the curse within Utgarda-Loki! It's as if he's been continuously cursed by the Night Demon ever since the start of the battle.
"A mere demon..."
... He's just a born illusionist.
How could someone possess such a high level of combat awareness?!
Utgarda-Loki found it somewhat difficult to understand.