Killing a Midgod

Barn had once read plenty of stories where the protagonist killed enemies above his level. He'd even come to believe that Midgods were nothing special. If he became a god in two elements and fused his divine powers, he could challenge stronger foes as easily as chopping vegetables.

But now, the pressure this Midgod put on him made him truly feel the weight of the gap in their realms. His attacks were too weak, and his defenses couldn't withstand a Midgod's divine power.

Though he had become a god through Fusion Profound Mysteries, combining two Lesser Profound Mysteries only barely surpassed a single High-level Profound Mystery. What was more, Barn had become a god in the Water Element, whose attacks were the weakest of all. He could handle Lowgods, but against a Midgod, even if he landed a hit with his speed, it would be hard to cause any real damage.

Fortunately, he was a Soul Mutator. His soul was far stronger than an ordinary Lowgod's, so he could just barely hold on against this Midgod, who wasn't skilled at Soul Attacks.

But after Wesker's sister lost one of her Divine Clones, their group of five was suddenly reduced to four, and the battle turned precarious at once.

Having witnessed Julia's death, every member of Ice Blade 123 Squad was red-eyed with grief and rage.

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Fukaloss stopped holding back and boldly took a dangerous gamble.

Her face blurred, and her features vanished, leaving only a huge golden eye like a vertical pupil. A streak of gray light shot through the air, aimed straight at Blackwood's brow. It was the Evil Eye King's innate ability.

Blackwood casually swung his Bone Blade, and Withered Fire surged forth, even setting the law-based divine ability alight!

But that momentary stalemate gave Fukaloss an opening. She suddenly surged forward, and her two Divine Artifact Chains darted out like venomous snakes, wrapping around the wrist of Blackwood's sword hand in an attempt to wrench away the deadly Bone Blade.

"You're overestimating yourself."

Blackwood sneered, and flames leaped mercilessly from the Bone Blade.

"Zzzzt—"

The terrifying Ghost Green Flame did ignite the divine power on the chains, but to his surprise, the flames spread extremely slowly, as if the chains' own artifact ability were forcefully suppressing them.

"Something's wrong. She's only a Lowgod. Even if those are Midgod Artifacts, they shouldn't... Could they be Highgod Artifacts?"

The thought made Blackwood's greed surge, but a moment later, his heart sank.

A Lowgod wielding Highgod Artifacts almost confirmed that Fukaloss really did have a Highgod relative backing her.

Highgods stood at the very top of Gobada's hierarchy.

Even the Five Great Kings wouldn't lightly attack another Highgod's family unless they had a deep-seated feud. He was only a newly advanced Midgod. If the Highgod in Ice Prison Royal City truly wanted him dead, he would have to spend his life hiding in Evil Royal City. The moment he showed his face, he'd be doomed, and no Highgod would stick their neck out for him.

That split-second hesitation was all it took. The chains cinched tightly around Blackwood's Bone Blade, leaving him unable to break free.

Barn seized the once-in-a-lifetime opening. With a flash, he appeared behind Blackwood.

The Mist Hidden spear gathered all his Water Element divine power and thrust straight at the back of his opponent's head.

Blackwood spun around in haste, his left hand wrapped in Withered Fire as he reached boldly for the spearhead.

"Thud!"

The Mist Hidden spear pierced his palm with ease, but couldn't go any deeper.

Barn took a closer look and saw a green Divine Artifact glove on his opponent's left hand. But the glove hadn't yet matured into a Midgod Artifact, so the Highgod Artifact Mist Hidden pierced right through it.

Unfortunately, the Mist Hidden spear's power leaned toward concealment and Soul Attacks. The former added no killing power, while the latter wasn't strong enough to shake a Midgod's soul. After the spearhead pierced his palm, it could go no farther.

Even so, it was enough to make Blackwood's heart race.

In his mind, no matter how strong a Lowgod's attack was, his Midgod body could take it. At worst, he'd break a bone in his left hand.

But Barn's thrust had pierced straight through his Divine Artifact glove!

Even more shocking, the flames on his left hand had wrapped around the ice-blue shaft, yet failed to ignite it at once.

For the first time, Blackwood truly felt the threat of death.

He no longer cared about any Highgod backing. He only wanted to crush every last one of these ants, then flee at once. He could always spend the rest of his life in Evil Royal City.

"Die!"

Blackwood spat, and a pitch-black Bone Spike shot out from beneath his tongue.

Barn hurriedly yanked back his spear and retreated, but the spike still struck him hard in the chest.

The physical wound was secondary. The real danger was the Soul Toxin coating the Bone Spike.

In Barn's mind, the gray Soul Toxin spread like ink dropped into water. His Soul Space, which had been wreathed in iridescent light, instantly turned ashen, and the toxin began creeping toward the spear-shaped soul at its center.

"Argh—"

He groaned in pain, but didn't lose his ability to fight. He clutched his head and retreated for the moment.

The difference between Soul Toxin and a direct Soul Attack was that the latter was actively controlled by its caster. A skilled god could direct a Soul Attack to seek out weaknesses in the target's soul.

Soul Toxin, on the other hand, mindlessly attacked everything in the Soul Space, making it somewhat less dangerous.

As Barn focused all his attention on controlling his soul and braced himself for the approaching gray Soul Toxin, the "Primordial Spiritual Qi" that had been drifting through his Soul Space unexpectedly touched the toxin first.

The gray Primordial Spiritual Qi seemed to come alive. It quickly coursed through the entire Soul Space, sweeping up the Soul Toxin in the blink of an eye.

After that, the Primordial Chaos Qi returned to its previous state of mindless drifting. Its size hadn't grown in the slightest, as if nothing that had just happened had anything to do with it.

"Barn!" Gideon asked anxiously.

"I'm fine." Barn had only been attacked when the Soul Toxin first entered his Soul Space. "The Bone Spike carries Soul Toxin, but it isn't very potent!"

Strangely enough, although Blackwood mainly cultivated the Laws of Death, he wasn't skilled at direct Soul Attacks.

He had comprehended only two abilities from the Laws of Death:

First, Withered Fire, which used the body and divine power as fuel, burning ever more fiercely;

Second, Soul Enslavement, used to plant Soul Seeds and refine Soul Gold Beads.

As for soul damage, he had a way to make up for that: Soul Toxin.

Any Death god could refine Soul Toxin. Even some Undead Holy Magi could manage it. Its potency depended entirely on the strength of the one who refined it. The Bone Spike he had just used was old stock from his Lowgod days. If it had been refined at the Midgod level, Barn could never have shrugged it off so easily.

Seeing Barn land a hit, Fukaloss suddenly exerted all her strength, trying to wrest the Bone Blade away completely.

Blackwood was thoroughly enraged. He swung his pierced left hand, unleashing a vast wave of Withered Fire driven by Midgod power.

"Ah—"

Fukaloss couldn't dodge in time. Flames caught one of her arms, engulfing it at once. She could only retreat in pain and cut off the burning limb, letting go of the Divine Artifact Chains as well.

Blackwood reached back and seized both Highgod Artifact chains.

But just then, a streak of white light shot through the air.

"Argh—!"

This time, it was Blackwood who cried out in pain.

Wesker had seized the opportunity to slash off his right hand!

Wesker, a Lowgod of the Light Element, had focused on the "Light Ray" Profound Mystery, the same one Olivia had cultivated during his Sanctuary days in the original story. It increased speed, and when fully mastered, could produce seemingly solid ribbons of light to entangle enemies.

But that style of fighting was completely countered by Blackwood's Withered Fire. As a result, Wesker had been wary of acting, and had barely contributed during the earlier part of the battle.

Only now did he take a risk, using his tremendous speed and the Midgod Artifact Long Sword his father had given him to cut off one of Blackwood's arms.

Blackwood stared at his severed right hand. His Bone Blade had been picked up by his opponent, and a towering fury surged through him.

Before his breakthrough, Lowgods from Azure Fire Royal City had hunted him for thousands of miles. Now, even after becoming a Midgod, he was still being humiliated again and again by a group of Lowgods.

"Unforgivable!"

He stopped caring about the cost in divine power. Ghost Green Flame blazed over his entire body, making him look like a demon crawling out of Hell as he charged straight at Fukaloss, who had only just escaped the flames.