Chapter 277
Xerath was flung onto the nearby temple. Stone pillars were smashed open, and dust billowed out of the building through the cracks. Huge stone slabs crashed down from above.
But none of these could cause any effective damage to Xerath.
"It's been a long time..." Xerath floated back into the air, simultaneously using a lightning spell to repel the strange mortal that tried to attack him again. "Nasus, after a thousand years, do you still naively believe you can stop me?"
"I'll send you back underground," Nasus vowed through gritted teeth.
Xerath's body burned even brighter, as if showing off his power, or perhaps expressing his disdain.
"Back then you had your beloved brothers to help you. Now, tell me, since the doors of our shared prison opened, have you seen Renekton?"
"Don't mention his name...!" Nasus growled like a hungry wolf.
"Have you seen what he looks like now?"
Nasus didn't speak, but Xerath burst into laughter, a laugh like the shrieks of fire spirits in battle.
"Of course you didn't see it." A sinister smile flickered within Xerath's body. "He would have killed you the moment he saw you."
These words pierced Nasus's heart like a needle.
Although it sounded absurd, he knew... Xerath was telling the truth.
Over the course of thousands of years, although he never saw Renekton again, he could feel Xerath's seduction and torment of him... and he was powerless to do anything about it.
Renekton, his dearest brother... now wanted to kill him...
"Your power should belong to Azir ..." Nasus said in a low voice, "You are not the chosen one of the sun."
Faced with Nasus's taunts, Xerath smiled contemptuously—when it came to verbal attacks, he feared no one—during his thousand years of imprisonment, he had devised various ways to deceive and bewitch Renekton with words every day.
That stupid Renekton.
"Oh..." Xerath's tone rose, becoming more mocking. "You know, Renekton wasn't either, but he became an 'Ascended' too, didn't he?"
Upon hearing this, Nasus's face darkened even further.
Enraged that his mockery had backfired, he charged forward recklessly.
This played right into Xerath's scheme.
A magical shockwave erupted, sweeping away the crowd like a whirlwind. The nearest buildings were also knocked down by the ground tremors.
Nasus charged forward and was struck directly by the magical attack.
Like a comet, the energy sphere struck his chest, blasting his extraordinary flesh into a bloody mess. The shockwave contained within also caused his mind to go blank for a short time.
"Foolish! Does someone like you deserve to be called Shurima?"
Xerath drifted closer, unleashing even more and stronger magic upon Nasus without restraint.
"But your brother was weaker... Oh, of course, you should have known that already. He collapsed much faster than I imagined. I simply told him that you abandoned him in the dark. You trapped him with his enemies and left him to fend for himself."
"Shut up... Don't mention his name...!" Nasus, enduring the excruciating pain, stepped forward again, swinging his axe to deflect yet another barrage of shrill white orbs of light.
Then, he thrust his axe forward, unleashing a withering power. Xerath was in pain and fury; the flames in his heart flared, but showed no sign of dimming.
"Childish magic... I'll show you true power!"
Xerath raised his hands, and a terrifying beam of energy converged above his head.
Nasus simply smiled dismissively.
Xerath felt somewhat surprised... and something seemed off.
But by the time he realized what was happening, it was too late—the strange mortal he had been wary of had inexplicably appeared behind him, and the longsword burning with golden flames slashed down directly at him.
Click!
This strike cleaved Xerath's illusory body in two.
However, what would be fatal to an ordinary person was nothing to him.
His two halves, made of energy, fell through the air and then reformed before hitting the ground.
"Press your advantage and strike!"
Before Xerath could regenerate his magic, Nasus charged forward recklessly.
His powerful Ascended physique was on full display at this moment, as the heavy axe, carrying earth-shattering energy, smashed towards Xerath's magic core.
Thump! The blow was powerful and heavy, slamming Xerath's sarcophagus body into the ground.
But that's not enough, never enough. The last time they faced off, Nasus and Renekton at the peak of their power. The current Nasus is merely a shadow of past glory, while Xerath's power has grown over countless centuries.
The treacherous spirit gathered a terrifying magical power from underground and launched it at the jackal warrior above.
Xerath's magic lifted Nasus high into the air, then slammed him into the dilapidated temple. The boulder struck him, and he felt his sun-forged bones break as easily as rotten wood.
Nasus gasped for breath amidst the rubble. His leg was broken, and his left arm hung limply at his side, shattered from shoulder to wrist. He tried to prop himself up with his other hand, but a searing pain shot through the broken part of his spine. Given time, his body could heal, but he had no time left.
"You're too weak... Nasus. You've fallen so low, you're even worse than the Honkai Renekton... In your time of wandering and self-reproach, your spirit has already rotted away."
The previous attacks didn't seem to have caused much real damage to Xerath. He continued to taunt his enemies with unrestrained sarcasm.
Nasus truly felt the difference in strength.
But he never gives up.
Even though his body was severely injured... even though his consciousness was almost completely blurred... even though he knew he was no match for him.
He also has helpers.
"Xerath...!!"
Nasus let out a terrifying roar, his body amplified by a surge of dark, Ascended Power.
An extremely powerful increase.
His already tall frame grew even taller, his body engulfed in terrifying dark purple flames. His skin turned black, and his muscles bulged as if they were about to burst through his skin.
He charged at Xerath again, his axe and Riot Games falling together—he had completely abandoned any defense.
The axe blade was flung far away after colliding with Xerath's magic, while his Riot Games gripped Xerath's illusory body.
He pinned the other person to the ground, as if he were about to strangle a hateful enemy.
"Useless struggle... childish anger..."
Xerath seemed unfazed by the physical attack, showing no reaction even when his "vital points" were gripped.
A fierce barrage of dark magic struck again, raining down on Nasus.
But he still wouldn't let go.
His teammates arrived at that moment.
Chen Ce used the Seraph's Blade, imbued with divine power, to pin Xerath's sarcophagus to the ground, joining Nasus in suppressing the raging sorcerer.
Xerath let out a disdainful laugh.
He couldn't understand why his two opponents were so stubborn and naive... Simple physical attacks couldn't harm the body of magic at all.
Even if all those stone coffins were smashed, it would only destroy his fragile, dispensable body.
He could easily look for other "containers".
Even... the host. This has no effect on him whatsoever.
Such an attack is pointless.
"Pathetic Grand Scholar and cowardly mortal..." Xerath sneered as he began to gather an even more terrifying magical power.
Regardless of how his opponent attacked him, he focused solely on accumulating magical power.
After waiting for more than ten seconds, his dark magic reached its peak.
Sizzle... Boom--!
The energy of lightning and fire erupted simultaneously, and a terrifying magic, powerful enough to make the earth tremble, struck Nasus directly.
This strike pierced directly through Nasus's armor, which he had treasured for a thousand years—the armor of the Ascended.
His abdomen was pierced by this terrifying dark magic.
It left behind a bloody hole the size of Riot Games.
Blood splattered, excruciating pain surged, and Nasus was blasted away by the energy.
Immediately afterwards, Xerath turned his attention to another opponent—that mortal who was like a mad dog.
The same amount of magic accumulated, the same intensity.
Another terrifying black magic spell was unleashed.
The mortal's abdomen was also pierced, leaving a bloody hole—if he hadn't moved his body in time, the blow would likely have pierced his fragile heart.
But penetrating the abdomen is enough.
For an ordinary person, having a large hole in their stomach is tantamount to death.
The power that had been suppressing Xerath vanished abruptly.
He then turned back to Nasus, preparing to deliver the fatal blow to the enemy who had sealed him away for a thousand years—he would bury Nasus under the yellow sand as well, letting him experience that lonely pain.
He raised a hand toward Nasus, and magic rapidly gathered.
The latter had no strength left to resist or block, and could only watch helplessly as the ball of magical energy grew larger and larger.
Can...
But he laughed.
Just like before.
Just like...
Xerath instantly sensed something was amiss.
He turned around as quickly as possible, intending to unleash the magical energy he had gathered in his hands onto another person.
But he was still too slow—a blink of an eye too slow.
That mortal... that man whose abdomen had been pierced... appeared behind him as if he were completely unharmed.
Then it opened its mouth towards his unsuspecting magic crystal core.
"I've been stacking Heartsteel for so long, do you think my health bar is that short...?"
Chen Ce opened his blood-covered mouth.
Then, laughing, he bit into Xerath's magic core.
[Feast]
Click!
Its sharp teeth, comparable to those of an ancient beast, bit into the magic crystal core, actually cracking it open.
In an instant, Xerath felt real pain—he had no physical body in the true sense, and this pain came from the depths of his soul.
The magic crystal core was bitten in half.
Despite enduring excruciating pain, Xerath unleashed a final strike, finally knocking the madman back a hundred meters.
The latter... was chewing on the half-sized magic crystal core that he "relied on for survival"... that madman... was chewing it with great relish...
"Such powerful magic..."
Chen Ce crunched on the magic crystal core, chewing it slowly before swallowing it completely, absorbing it, and making it his own.
[Skill [Devour] has been activated, granting a portion of the target [Ancient Witch Spirit Xerath]'s power.]
Powerful magic flowed through his body, and his wounds healed completely within seconds—leaving only a shallow scar.
Chen Ce sensed an extremely powerful magical force.
And it can be controlled and used at will.
"Ah... delicious, absolutely delicious... six times more nutritious than Void creatures..."
Chen Ce raised an arm, and the same magical power as Xerath condensed in his palm.
The latter was immediately filled with terror.
Losing half of a magic crystal core not only reduced his power by half, but the extreme pain emanating from his very soul also rendered him unable to exert even half of his combat strength.
Unlike Chen Ce, he felt... fear.