Chapter 202 - 164: The Corrupting Black Tide_1

Words : 1969 Updated : Oct 3rd, 2025

Chapter 202: Chapter 164: The Corrupting Black Tide_1"Understood." The moment Dog Demon grasped Gaven’s intention, a shiver ran through its heart. If all this had been premeditated, then the strategy was terrifying, nearly matching the cunning of the great devils. Warily proposing, "If scouting is directed at them, I’d better continue to roam around. It’s more convenient than joining them, after all. Once I join, my activity will be greatly restricted." After giving it some thought, Gaven nodded and said, "Let’s delay the joining plan for now. For the time being, having Shanoba as a spy is enough. As long as you connect with her, we’ll have firsthand internal information. Your involvement would be a waste of resources, besides, I have a more pressing need for you here. Let those Zuo Lang who are unaware of your true nature join them. You continue to prowl the outskirts and expand your army of wild wolves. But, without my command, do not attack the Santarin Association’s caravans." "Rest assured, Master. I am the sword in your hand; wherever you point, I’ll strike. I won’t jab too much or too little," Dog Demon immediately promised without any hesitation. It had followed its master for some time and understood well what he was most concerned about. As long as it did not exhibit the treacherous vices of a devil, its master was quite amiable. "This matter ends here for now. Come, let me introduce you to a few teammates. Shortly, we will engage in another mode of combat," Gaven said as he and Dog Demon approached Virginia and the others without recruiting any more members. The trials would continue as before, with a five-person squad being enough. If there were more, neither Gaven nor Virginia would be able to cover them all. By the time Gaven arrived, Anna and Stelina had already chosen their weapons. In Anna’s hands were a mace with spikes and a small shield. As for Stelina, she wielded two short knives. The condensation of these Soul Weapons varied from person to person—affected by the subconscious mind of the user. This was why Gaven and Virginia had taken great pains to preserve them with soul essence. Dog Demon did not choose a weapon but reverted to its original form, for its claws and teeth were its best weapons. Virginia must have used some magic, for the Spring Dream girl Nicole came back over, appearing normal, at least when facing others. However, her gaze still flickered and she dared not look directly at Gaven. "The situation must have already been explained to you by Lord Virginia. Next, we will engage in actual combat as a squad. Remember, no matter what happens, do not separate. If something goes wrong, immediately teleport back to the safety zone," Gaven instructed as he laid out the combat plan. "Andrew will lead the attack, Stelina will support, Anna will defend, Nicole and I will provide ranged attacks. Any issues?" "None," everyone responded in unison. After briefly introducing the Dragon Oak Dream Realm to Dog Demon, Gaven announced, "Dragon Oak Squad, everyone enter the combat area." This was a passive setting where entering as a group was considered a single entry to prevent being too dispersed in the combat area, avoiding a surprise attack by the enemy. Howl! Howl! Howl! As soon as they entered the combat area, Dog Demon led with excitement, charging at the nearest deformed wild wolf and tearing into it with its claws, gnawing as if it were feasting on a physical form. Before the others had time to prepare for battle, the deformed wild wolf was ripped to shreds by Dog Demon. With a deep breath, the black mist that formed the wild wolf was inhaled into its stomach as it roared with satisfaction: "Thrilling!" Unafraid of the Corruption Power seeping from the deformed wild wolf, Dog Demon’s Gnawing, as a Supernatural Ability, was still effective even in a soul state. Given its origins, this wasn’t surprising. Its core power, the Hell Power, was the forebear of corruption. The foul tricks of the Foul Giants might work against the creatures of the Material Plane, but they were nothing to it. What Gaven saw in it was exactly this; the effect was even better than he had anticipated. Now, like a weasel in a henhouse, Dog Demon couldn’t contain its excitement. As for the rest, except for Nicole who seemed a bit timid with her lack of real combat experience, the others were quite composed, especially Stelina. Sёarch* The novёlF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Although Gaven had set her up as a support attacker, her dual Soul Knives were incredibly efficient in killing. And her Autumnbreeze Protection magic effect, surprisingly, worked not only on the body but also on the soul state. With no chance for Gaven to make a move against the crab soldiers, he focused on guiding the only novice, Nicole: "Concentrate, focus your mind, use your will as the bowstring, your spirit as the arrow, and you can draw and shoot." Nicole, with her bow condensed in hand, didn’t have a string or arrow and was a little flustered. Following Gaven’s instructions, she did as told. With her remarkable innate three-dimensional talent, with just a nudge of Gaven’s mental suggestion, Nicole truly drew the bow and shot a psychic arrow. This Psychic Bullet wasn’t comparable to the ones Gaven crafted with Psychic Power Points, but it represented a promising start at least. Gaven thought with interest that if Nicole also became a Psychic Sorcerer, with her natural build and magical talent, she might be more formidable than him. But as a half-baked Psychic Sorcerer himself, he had no idea how to teach anyone. Gaven only pondered over this because it not only depended on Nicole’s personal choice but also on her father Atwood and Lord Virginia. They would not likely let Nicole do as she pleased. Howl! Howl! Howl! Three Foul Giants came at the noise, and from a distance, grabbed the deformed creatures nearby and hurled them like stones. Bang! Bang! Bang! The three flung deformed creatures burst into clouds of black smoke in mid-air, struck by Gaven’s Psychic Bullets. While firing, he said, "I’ll hold off two of them, don’t bother with the lesser monsters, leave them to me. You guys focus fire, try to take down another one as quickly as possible." As for which one to focus fire on, there was no need for Gaven to specify, because under the barrage of his Psychic Bullets, the distances between them quickly widened. The Giant Gaven hadn’t dealt with was the first to charge forward, the other two were still dozens of meters away, moving in jerky steps as if dancing the moonwalk. When the Giant was six or seven meters from the five-person squad, Gaven found a moment to fire a Psychic Bullet at this Foul Giant, halting his charging momentum. The small annoying monsters nearby were also eliminated one by one by Gaven, turning into his Psychic Power Points. The Desert Eagle with its infinite bullets was indeed handy. This situation left his four teammates shocked and in awe. How could it feel like Gaven alone could deal with all the monsters? Did they even need to call them in? Although they were puzzled, their actions were by no means slow, especially the Dog Demon who saw these creatures as supplements, particularly the Foul Giants. Gnawing on one would definitely increase his Life Dice by one. No sooner had the Giant been restrained than the Dog Demon cast a Flash Spell, leaping onto its back and immediately began a frenzy of clawing and gnawing. Stelina’s reaction wasn’t slow either. With a Fairy Step, she appeared directly in front of the Giant’s deformed short leg, wielding her twin daggers in a wild flurry, set on making its mobility issues even more severe. The battle on Gaven’s side was fiercely intense. The situation with the Foul Giant’s corrupted troops was likewise chaotic. This was a cavern colossal enough to be at least ten times more expansive than the Dragon Oak Dragon Nest. The cave was not as dark as surface dwellers might imagine, where one couldn’t see their hand before their face. Glowing natural crystals were embedded in the cave walls, and phosphorescent fungi of all colors were everywhere, lighting the place up in a very fantastical way. An Underground River roared as it poured down from the surface, flowing through the vast cavern for nearly half a kilometer before cascading into another hole, leaving one to wonder if there was yet another Dark Cavern below. Three massive roots, each tens of meters thick, pierced into the cavern from above, then plunged deeper into the ground, the tops and bottoms out of sight. Just looking at these sights, there’s a unique fantasy and beauty to be admired. But the scene under those roots was not so beautiful. Around the massive roots were built three enormous altars, each in shapes and designs that were indescribably bizarre and twisted, asymmetrical in every way, enough to drive anyone with obsessive-compulsive disorder into a frenzy. The corpses piled atop were like mountains, including various Beasts and Fairies from the Fairy Forest, as well as Foul Giants, Cyclopses, and Bansha Spirits. These bodies were both rotting skeletons and freshly killed, bloodied ones that had just been thrown atop. The corruption of these three roots was quite severe, not black in color, but streaked with blood vessels as if they had grown their own, occasionally pulsating as if they were becoming living creatures. At that very moment, the three roots suddenly began to pulse wildly, and a black fog burst forth. Some of it even condensed into tentacles in mid-air, flailing about indiscriminately. A few Dark Servants who were moving corpses to throw on the twisted Dark Altars were struck mid-action by the black fog tentacles. They uttered half a scream before falling stiffly to the ground, their Souls forcibly yanked out by the tendrils and shoved into them. "Run! Quickly, the Corruption Tide has started again." "Hurry and report to Prince!" "Prince, there’s trouble, the Corruption Tide has started again." The surrounding Dark Servants, seeing the dangerous situation, all hid far away. A few, dull-witted, screamed as they ran to their masters. The clever ones all cowered in the dark, watching with malicious, schadenfreude-filled eyes as their brethren hurried away, knowing these fools would never return. Their brutal masters hated nothing more than such bad news. Sure enough, accompanied by a series of thunderous footsteps, dozens of Foul Giants emerged, some still holding the Dark Servants who went to report, most of their heads crushed in their grasp, dead beyond dead. Approaching, the bodies were casually thrown towards the warped Dark Altars by the Giants. Before they even hit the ground, the black fog tentacles swept up, forcibly pulling their Souls from their bodies. Those Foul Giants stopped far away, for even they dared not get too close to the black fog tentacles, unsure whether they might also yank away the Souls of Foul Giants. The leading Giant was extremely tall and strong, standing out even among the Foul Giants, easily two heads taller and measuring six or seven meters. On his ugly large head, he wore a giant crown glittering with gold. To fit his head, the crown had to be made large and twisted, which made it look particularly bizarre. He was not wielding a Giant Wooden Club but a super-large battle axe made of fine steel. There was no need to ask to know that he was the supreme Leader of the Foul Giants in that place, the Prince referred to by the Dark Servants.

Chapter 202 - 164: The Corrupting Black Tide_1

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