"Shen Wulong actually lost!? How is that possible?!"
The Devourer let out a shriek-like roar, his face twisting grotesquely. Raian was already closing in from behind, so he tossed back a binding-type control item to hold Raian up. Then, without hesitation, he leaped from the rooftop, pulled out a glider from his storage space, and hung from it one-handed.
Luke looked to be in terrible condition, but he was a monster who had killed Shen Wulong. The Devourer did not have the slightest courage to go down there and fight him.
Besides, Raian was no weakling. If they really fought, the Devourer was not even certain he could beat Raian.
Suspended in midair, he looked down at Luke. "You’re strong, but times have changed."
He did not know what Shen Wulong had been thinking at the end, but Shen Luohan had made arrangements from the start. The military force the Death Merchant had deployed offshore would act soon. Missiles would soon level Kure Village.
He had once lamented how absurd the Worm’s presence in this world was, but now he was grateful for that absurdity. Once the nuclear weapon fell, no matter how powerful Luke was, he would be reduced to ash.
He just needed to escape this place quickly. As long as Luke died, he would still be the victor in this world.
"[Binding Spell #30: Three-Beaked Strike]."
Just as he imagined Luke dying beneath a nuclear blast, a low voice came from below.
In the next instant, three enormous beak-shaped beams flew over and pinned his hands and waist to the wall. Even with his considerable Strength, he could not break free.
Luke slowly lowered his hand, a smile that chilled the Devourer to the bone appearing on his face. "Surely you didn’t think I had no ranged attacks at all?"
During his fight with Shen Wulong, Luke had not used Hadō or Binding Spells. It was not because he was being overly honorable and insisted on defeating Shen Wulong solely in a weapon duel. It was because Shen Wulong had vast combat experience and exceptional evasion ability.
Low-level Binding Spells were useless against Shen Wulong, while stronger ones took too long to cast and could easily expose an opening in battle. Against Shen Wulong, exposing an opening was fatal.
But Shen Wulong was dead now. Luke had mainly fought with physical strength before, so he still had a substantial amount of Soul Source remaining. Even with his impaired mobility, killing the Devourer would not be difficult.
Under the shocked gazes of the Devourer and Raian, Luke raised his hand again and murmured, "Bones of beasts, scattered far and wide! Spire, red crystal, steel wheels. Motion is wind; stillness is sky..."
Pinned in place, the Devourer listened to Luke’s incantation and felt the immense energy gathering in Luke’s hand. Struggling wildly, he roared, "Fuck you! You’re using Bleach abilities in Kengan?!"
Yet Luke’s gaze remained fixed on the Rulebreaker pinned halfway up the high-rise as he calmly continued the Hadō chant. "...The sound of clashing spears fills the empty castle! [Hadō #63: Thunder Roar Cannon]!"
As the chant ended, a thick pillar of lightning erupted with a thunderous roar and struck the Devourer.
There was no surprise at all. This was a killing blow fueled by every last bit of Soul Source he had left. Even Shen Wulong could not have taken a Hadō of this level head-on. The instant the lightning reached him, the Devourer’s body collapsed and disintegrated.
When the mission notification sounded beside his ear, Luke’s mind finally relaxed. His body was on the verge of collapse, and his Soul Source had run dry, leaving him dizzy and lightheaded. This was also his first time using such a high-level Hadō in actual combat. As expected, it was still too taxing.
High-level Hadō had Spiritual Pressure requirements. Casting a spell of this level with his current Spiritual Pressure was far too much of a stretch. But he could not let the Rulebreaker escape. He had to guarantee a one-hit kill. If the man got away, who knew what further trouble he would cause?
Cough, cough...
Luke coughed up several more mouthfuls of blood. The overload from [Secret Technique: Demon God] had left him badly injured. Fortunately, all his missions had been completed. Once he returned to Endspace, he could be healed.
He forced himself to stand straight and swept his eyes around, meeting the gazes of the Kure Clan members who had arrived one by one. Smiling, he waved to them.
"Until we meet again."
With that, Luke silently recited, "Endspace, return."
At the same time, offshore Japan, several trails of flame rose into the sky, collided in the distance, and blossomed into dazzling fireworks.
Katahara Metsudo stood on the beach, leaning on his cane as he watched the sight. A smile rested on his aged face. "Don’t underestimate the power of a nation, you worms."
He turned toward Kure Village. "Now then, my strongest Fang... did you defeat the pinnacle of this world?"
............
A flash of white light passed, and Luke landed in his room.
【Detected: Pioneer has 18 torn tendons, 9 fractured bones, and internal bleeding in multiple areas... Life Source below 30%. Beginning treatment for Pioneer...】
Immediately afterward, Luke floated into the air as a cool sensation enveloped his body. He actually wanted to speak up and refuse.
Well, he had wanted to wait until his Soul Source recovered a little, then heal himself with Kaidō. That way, he could save some Endspace Coins.
But Endspace was so overbearing that it gave him no choice at all and directly began treating him.
After some time, Luke landed on the ground again. His body felt incredibly light, as if he had been restored to full health.
【This treatment consumed 1,123 Endspace Coins. The amount has been automatically deducted from the Pioneer’s balance.】
Luke had been about to curse Endspace for forcing a purchase on him, but after moving his arms and legs, he truly felt extraordinarily comfortable. The treatment was far more perfect than healing himself with Kaidō, so he let it go.
"Endspace, settlement."
Settling his rewards was the priority now. Luke had high expectations for this world’s rewards. After all, he had steamrolled the entire Kengan world in one go, and he considered himself pretty efficient about it.
【Beginning settlement of derivative world rewards...】
Derivative World: Kengan Ashura: Mutation
Difficulty: Lv. 3–8 (Normal–Nightmare)
World Exploration: 73.8%
【Beginning settlement of Pioneer No. 008’s mission completion status...】
【All main missions completed. Reward: 10,000 Endspace Coins, World Core.】
【Beginning hunt mission settlement...】
【Hunt mission completed. Reward: [Bronze Pioneer Medal] ×1.】
【Beginning Pioneer mission settlement...】
【Pioneer mission completed. Origin Seed ability bestowal is ready. Please complete the integration as soon as possible.】
The main missions were completed exceptionally well. This world’s overall evaluation has been raised.
Beginning comprehensive evaluation of the Explorer’s performance in this mission world...
Detected that the Explorer Mark’s level is lower than this world’s overall difficulty level. Evaluation increased. Explorer experience increased.
Overall Evaluation: S (Note: Ratings range from E- to S+. The overall evaluation is primarily calculated based on World Exploration and mission completion, and is affected by the difference between the Explorer’s level and world difficulty.)
Received one S-rank Honor Medal. This medal may be used to exchange for special privileges.
Explorer level increased. Upgraded to Lv. 7.
【Based on the Explorer’s overall evaluation, choose four of the following seven rewards.】
A. 13 free attribute points
B. 30,000 Endspace Coins
C. Purple Random Equipment Chest
D. Purple Random Item Chest
E. [Inheritance Crystal] (Small) ×10
F. Rare Title Upgrade Privilege
G. Rare Random Bloodline Chest
This round’s rewards were far more generous than those from the previous world. Not only were there more options, but he could choose more rewards as well.
After thinking for a moment, Luke decided that although he did not consider his luck bad, gambling on chests was not reliable. He excluded the chest options.
In the end, he chose A, B, E, and F. Those were the most dependable high-return choices.
Thirty thousand Endspace Coins was no small amount. He was fairly well-off now. Thanks to the extra income from that cooperative female Explorer, even after deducting Endspace’s treatment fee, he still had 41,000 Endspace Coins. That was enough to buy himself some good items in the marketplace.
Since his specialization abilities improved fairly quickly through practice anyway, he did not plan to use the Inheritance Crystals on them. As for whether he would sell them later or use them on special skills, he would decide after seeing what the Origin Seed’s ability was.
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