Divine Convenience Store-Chapter 606: Decisive Strike

On a normal occasion, if he sensed danger from an opponent, Lin Mo would take a step back or retreat to find a way to beat it. But in this scenario, everything was already set up. If they backed out now, the Hive-Tree would just open a portal and fill the place up again with reinforcements.

That's why Lin Mo didn't hesitate to equip the armor set and charge straight at the tall Dyshanti.

'These two must have been here all along but they only decided to step out for the unexpected factor.' He thought as his sword disappeared from his hand and was replaced by his spear. Then, a piece of Spirit Embodiment Sticker Seal slapped into his chest, activating instantly. 'I also have a surprise factor on my side.'

Along with the sound of his armor suit clicking in place, a momentary spirit projection of a dragon flashed before his figure disappeared. Instead of aiming at the Dyshanti who reacted accordingly, the tip of his spear pointed at the small Vyrnethi sitting on its shoulder.

The child-like entity's eyes, which lacked any trace of innocence, widened for a split second. It was the look of someone not expecting to be targeted right away.

The physical augmentation of the [Decanus Set] already pushed his capabilities to that of a Core Formation Stage cultivator. But add the [Greater Aura of Combat] and the sticker seal he applied, he became like a noisy assassin that blinked from one place to another, causing a sonic boom.

The dragon sticker was not a simple strength buff like the bear or the tortoise. It was the [Azure-Winged Dragon] designed specifically for short-burst, hyper-accelerated movement that defied inertia, breaking the sound barrier.

The tall Dyshanti, sensing the threat to its master, immediately crossed its arms and raised them to shield the Vyrnethi. Then, the green vines wrapped around it turned black and hardened as though the pulsating lifeforce burst out, making it age.

If Lin Mo were just a simple Foundation Establishment cultivator, he wouldn't be confident in breaking its guard but with all the buffs applied to his body, along with the fact that the Viridescent Glow and the suppression of spiritual energy did not affect him, he was at his peak.

"Dear customer, I don't know what your standing is in the hierarchy of the Vyrnethi race but you should've considered an anomaly like me," Lin Mo muttered softly. It didn't matter if the child-like Vyrnethi heard him, after all, he was moving quicker than the sound.

The spear tip reached the hardened vine, but it was like a piece of tofu, pierced effortlessly by the heaven-grade spear.

"No…! This can't happen!"

The Vyrnethi's expression twisted and changed between surprise, disdain and eventually terror.

He raised his small hand as though trying to use his body to block the spear that already pierced the thick arm of the Dyshanti.

Viridescent Energy seemed to converge on that point, creating a green gelatinous shield that bubbled up like it was creating a screen between them.

It was a condensed barrier of pure Viridescent Energy, designed to catch and swallow any spiritual force thrown at it.

But Lin Mo's spear didn't even contain any of his starlight qi. It was the pure force of his current physique.

'Absorb this,' Lin Mo thought coldly.

Without relying on explosive spells or flashy qi projections, the absolute, uncompromising physics of mass multiplied by extreme acceleration became a force that the Vyrnethi never expected from a cultivator.

The [Decanus Set] whined as the Aether Energy circulated within, pushing the augmentation to the absolute limit and channeling the explosive propulsion of the [Azure-Winged Dragon] sticker seal.

The tip of the [Starlit Dragon Spear], still coated by the blood of the Dyshantim, struck the bubble shield.

At first, the shield rippled, attempting to disperse the impact in every direction.

However, the velocity of Lin Mo's charge was too overwhelming. It was like trying to catch a bullet with a spiderweb.

POP!

The green barrier shattered like fragile glass, dissolving into a mist of useless energy.

The spear tip plunged forward, bypassing the child-like Vyrnethi's outstretched hand and sinking deeply into its right shoulder.

He tried to jump out of the Dyshanti's shoulder, but Lin Mo's momentum simply dragged him towards the crack that they had just walked out of.

They only stopped when they hit the wall that immediately made the tree shudder from the impact.

"GAAAAAH!"

An ear-piercing scream erupted from the Vyrnethi. It was an agonizing scream of someone who had probably been sheltered all this time.

Viridescent blood, glowing like toxic neon, sprayed across the shaft of Lin Mo's spear.

"You dare! Filthy native!" The Vyrnethi screeched as its eyes glowed with malice.

The leafy wings on its back tried to move, perhaps to push them back from the inner wall but Lin Mo's strength totally outclassed him.

And despite the pressure coming directly from the Hive-Tree, which was clearly using its life force and inherent Viridescent Energy, Lin Mo remained unmoved.

"I apologize, dear customer. You are not fated to be our store's patron. But here, I'll give you a taste of our convenience."

Upon saying that, one of his hands let go of the spear's shaft, but in its place, his revolver appeared.

He didn't channel his [Psionic-Tempered Starlight Qi] into it. Against a foreign entity surrounded by an environment designed to gorge on spiritual output, going extra would be akin to throwing a lifeline to a drowning man.

Instead, Lin Mo relied on the mechanical efficiency of the weapon itself, supplemented only by the physical strength pouring from the [Decanus Set]. He manually cocked the hammer, the metallic click sounding unnervingly loud against the backdrop of the screeching Vyrnethi.

He aimed point-blank at the center of his forehead, right between his horrified eyes.

"Do not worry. You don't need to return this one," Lin Mo stated flatly.

BANG!

A standard [Stardust Shot], stripped of its luminous aura and compressed into a dense slug of physical force, tore from the barrel.

At this range, and with the Vyrnethi pinned to the rigid bark of the Hive-Tree, there was no evasion or magical dampening field that could absorb the kinetic trauma of the impact.

The spiritual energy bullet shattered the creature's skull, passing cleanly through and burying itself deep into the pulsating wood of the tree behind it.

The Vyrnethi's screech was cut off instantly. Its limbs went slack, the glowing blood seeping into the dark vines of the tree.

He didn't immediately dissolve into motes of light right away as the Hive-Tree started pouring the Viridescent Energy into the Vyrnethi's body, trying desperately to pump life back into him.

But it was useless. A few seconds later, Lin Mo sensed the sliver of 'experience points' flowing into him, pushing him past the mid Foundation Establishment Stage.

At that moment, the tall, imposing Dyshanti that had acted as the creature's mount did not share its master's sudden stillness.

With its controlling link severed violently, the towering brute let out a mindless roar that was almost a laugh.

The black bark armor covering its limbs shifted, expanding as the viridescent vines injected a massive surge of life force back into it.

It swung a massive arm in a wild, sweeping backhand aimed directly at Lin Mo's armored head.

Or so he thought.

Lin Mo jumped away with his revolver and spear in hand, leaving the confines of the Hive-Tree and watched as the Dyshanti's arm pummeled the dead Vyrnethi.

The wind pressure caused by that impact was enough to make the surrounding foliage snap, but Lin Mo didn't mind it.

He landed close to where he had separated from Wu Meiyu.

And sure enough, they were already about to put an end to the massive tree.

"Your Highness! Go for it!" Lin Mo shouted as he watched the giant Dyshanti desecrate the corpse of his former master, as if he was venting out the anger that had built up from being enslaved.

Naturally, the Hive-Tree continued to protect the corpse. The Life-Seeds that were being cultivated within turned into bombs that blasted down the tall Dyshanti.

At the same time that was happening, Wu Meiyu moved.

Her unadorned steel rapier was lowered, pointed toward the ground, but her entire body hummed with a suppressed, cataclysmic pressure.

.

The [Golden Dragon's Ascent] was at its peak. Every drop of her mid Foundation Establishment spiritual energy, augmented by the 50% buff of the [Greater Aura of Combat], had been forcefully compressed into her bones, muscles, and the very marrow of her being.

She stepped past the roots as her eyes locked solely on the massive, pulsating trunk of the Viridescent Hive-Tree.

The Hive-Tree seemed to sense its impending doom. The green veins along its bark throbbed violently, and a massive slit in its trunk began to tear open, swirling with the chaotic spatial energy of an incoming portal. It was trying to force a mass-summon to save itself.

"A futile endeavor," Wu Meiyu whispered.

She planted her lead foot, the ground cracking beneath her silk boots. She thrust her rapier forward.

There was no blinding flash of light or a roaring dragon of projected qi. To the naked eye, it looked like a simple, mundane fencing lunge.

But the moment the tip of the steel rapier touched the thick, vine-armored bark of the Hive-Tree, the compressed force within her was unleashed in a single point.

THOOOOOM!