God Eater

(A climactic battle is brewing, a groundbreaking attempt, and most of the foreshadowing has been laid out. I hope to finish writing it in one go before the end of the month. Please look forward to the true strength of the Arcane Empire!)

Pfft!

A spurt of blood gushed out.

The Werebear roared in fury and pain, slamming his palm behind him with tremendous force. The force created a gust of wind, instantly shattering a millstone-sized piece of bluestone into fragments. Soren leaped forward, his Scimitar Icetail slicing through the gap in the Werebear's arm once more, leaving another wound with a chilling glint.

Immense strength, sluggish movements, and a not-so-bright mind.

For Soren, who has now advanced to the Legendary level, dealing with this kind of enemy is actually very simple, because it is too difficult for the Werebear to hit him. If it weren't for the fact that most of the Lycanthrope are Constitution strong, he probably could have finished off his target with his first Backstab. But now the Werebear is also seriously injured. Blood is constantly gushing from its back. Its huge body looks extremely ferocious, but every attack it makes hits empty ground.

If it were a highly threatening Were-tiger, perhaps he could get his hands on Soren's body, but the Werebear was out of the question.

Thump!

A dull thud sounded as the person fell to the ground.

Soren slowly sheathed his Scimitar, gazing at the lifeless Werebear corpse on the ground. Having lost its Hit Points, its body gradually shrank, eventually transforming into a human man covered in thick fur. His face was rugged, resembling a savage, only reverting to human form after death. The side effects of the Lycanthropy are severe; without sufficient talent and strength, one could easily end up like the Werebear before him, forever a mindless beast, only able to revert to its original form upon death.

In addition, there is another very dangerous place for the Lycanthrope.

These low-level Lycanthrope carry a terrible virus, and if you are injured by them, there is about a one in ten chance of contracting Lycanthropy.

At this point, a mandatory Saving Throw determination must be made.

Otherwise.

They may be infected with the Lycanthropic Virus and, after experiencing a painful transformation process with fever, may transform into Lycanthrope on a full moon night or at some other time.

The transformation process also includes a mandatory Constitution assessment; failure to do so can lead to madness or even death.

The Lycanthropic Virus is mostly carried by low-level Lycanthrope.

They possess the most primitive virus. If they are offspring of Lycanthrope, such as the extremely rare Lulumiao, then the Lycanthropic Virus will transform into their own genetic lineage. Lulumiao's original form is still primarily human. Currently, there has been no evidence of her Change Shape, so it is highly likely that one of her parents is a pure-blooded human. (Note 1: <On the variant forms of Lycanthrope and the mutations after reproduction>, Chapter Six.)

(Note 2: <On Reproductive Isolation and the Probability of Interspecies Reproduction among Lycanthrope>, Chapter 3, Research Report on Half-blood Werewolf.)

Soren naturally had nothing to fear from these viruses.

Whether it's the Lycanthropic Virus or the Undead Corpse Poison, trying to bypass his current Fortitude Save, Constitution immunity, Saving Throw Will Save is simply wishful thinking. Unless Soren is infected while dead, he can basically ignore them.

"Come out."

Soren swung his sword and cleaved open the cage beside him, asking the Duergar imprisoned inside, "Where are you from? Do you know the terrain around here?"

Bang.

Just as Soren opened the cage, the Bugbear suddenly rushed out and ran towards the edge of the swamp without a word. Whether it was out of its mind or not, it actually thought it could escape Soren's grasp. What greeted it was a cold flash of light; Soren swung his blade and decapitated the Bugbear. The gushing blood splattered all over the Duergar. The Duergar shuddered and stammered, "Your Excellency!... Your Excellency!... Don't kill me!..."

"I'll tell you everything I know!... Please don't kill me!... Wherever you plan to go, I can show you the way!..."

Light footsteps sounded.

The little girl tiptoed closer from outside, and upon seeing the corpse on the ground, she immediately clapped her hands and swaggered over, pouting, "Soren! So boring! This place is disgusting! Let's go out first."

As Brass Dragon that inhabits the desert, she naturally dislikes this swampy environment.

"Um."

Soren nodded slightly, casually sheathing his Scimitar. His cold gaze fixed on the Duergar before him, and he said in a deep voice, "Lead the way! There should be a road leading to Gracklstugh nearby. Take us there first."

The Duergar walked forward timidly.

Soren followed behind expressionlessly, while the little girl remained carefree and cheerful, though she clearly disliked the environment.

It was about a kilometer away from Soren.

A slender, Masked Woman stood in the darkness, her eyes gleaming faintly as if containing some mysterious power. An invisible energy field seemed to surround her, keeping anything that approached, even the wind, at bay. She stared at Soren's location, her gaze seemingly piercing through space, locking onto Soren figure.

"Die!"

Heavy footsteps sounded, and behind the slender woman appeared an incredibly burly man. He carried an extremely heavy battle axe in one hand, and his terrifying muscles seemed to contain boundless power. The luster of his Adamantine was mixed with some indescribable power, and his immense destructive force was immediately apparent. This was a very terrifying Barbarian, and it was almost without any guesswork to determine that his strength was already above Legendary.

He spoke the ancient Common, a language used thousands of years ago, composed of 36 Rune.

This name is quite unique.

However, in modern syllables, this Masked Woman could be called 'Butterfly'.

The Barbarian slowly walked up behind her and said in a deep voice, "What are you doing?"

Hehe.

A soft chuckle rang out, Masked Woman turned to look at the Barbarian, a slight smile playing on her lips. "I've unexpectedly discovered a rather interesting Rogue," she said casually. "quite a fascinating little fellow! And he's accompanied by a Brass Dragon that has transformed into human form—such a combination is quite rare!"

The Barbarian frowned upon hearing this and said in a deep voice, "Don't cause any unnecessary trouble!"

"We didn't come out of Sigil (Note 1) for sightseeing! This is the first official operation of [God Eater]. Our bait has attracted the target, and the Spider Queen's attention has turned to the decoy."

"To deal with this terrifying being, I believe you should know what the consequences of failure would be!"

Spider Queen!

The supreme being of the Underdark! Queen of the Drow! Ruler of the Demon Abyss Hell!

A terrifying Deity possessing Greater Divinity!!!

Butterfly's expression gradually turned serious. She withdrew her gaze and said slowly, "I can distinguish between what's important and what's not, and I won't let it interfere with important matters! It's just that this little guy's mind is very special; I've never seen such mental power before."

"Dark, Cruelty, and merciless."

"But there was an indescribable light within it; I even saw the brilliance of sacrifice!"

"It's truly mesmerizing!"

The Masked Woman chuckled somewhat flippantly, then slowly opened her palm, her voice icy as she said, "War Chess (Note 2) simulation activated! [Arcane War Chess] scanning mode activated!..."

A pure ball of energy appeared.

Immediately, an invisible energy field spread out, surging in all directions.

"Activate your Psionic Field!"

"Mind Scan Activated!... Terrain Simulation Initiated!... Scanning terrain within a 100-kilometer radius!..."

"Tower Spirit 7 takes over command of the War Chess system!"

"Initiating synchronized terrain simulation!... Tactical map construction in progress!... Scanning nearby spatial nodes!..."

"Psionic Field spreading!"

"Activate Mind Resonance!... Establish Synchronized Mind Transfer!... Computational Spatial Beacon!... Demiplane Synchronization Lock!... Simulate Interdimensional Teleportation Channel!..."

"Teleportation node construction!..."

"Magical Powered Armor (Note 3) ready!... Tower Spirit 6 assumes command of the Spatial Beacon!..."

"Project Godslayer activated!"

"Target— Lolth, the Spider Queen!"

Note 1: The Sigil is a very mysterious entity in the entire Multiverse. Legend has it that it is an important node in the Multiverse, possessing Portal connecting countless Plane. The Lady of Pain is the absolute ruler of the Sigil, possessing terrifying power unimaginable to mortals. However, the Sigil was closed long ago, and now very few beings can enter it. The Sigil rejects any Deity; even Greater Divinity Deity cannot easily set foot in this place.

Note 2: Arcane War Chess originated from a Tactical Simulation game during the Arcane Empire era. This special technology has now been lost, and only a small number of Wizard organizations possess partial simulation capabilities. When Soren was searching for the second Elemental Crystal, the Elemental Genie he encountered mentioned this [War Chess], and the monsters it summoned at that time simulated the rules of Arcane War Chess.

Note 3: Magical Powered Armor was a terrifying war machine during the Arcane Empire era, as mentioned in all the information above.

...(To be continued~^~)