Extraordinary Voyage-Chapter 857 - 735: The Hunt Begins!
Sure, here is the translated text:
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The massive swarm of flies, forcefully controlled by [Royal Authority: Command], was easily annihilated by even more flies after launching a counterattack. Meanwhile, these carnivorous "companions" mercilessly devoured them.
Buzzing...
The golden ring of Divine Art emitted a sharp creaking sound under the gnawing of the flies' sharp mouthparts, flickering as it seemed on the verge of breaking.
"The Beloved of the 'God of Rotting Flies', the [Corrupt Odorous Crawler]?!"
At this time, Bishop Ralph already realized the identity of the attacking enemy.
In fact, a part of tomorrow's grand mass was intended to calm people's hearts in such a fearful time.
As the highest-ranked Holy Professional on the New Continent, he naturally understood the current plight of the Duchy and the consequences of being parasitized by the opponent. So without hesitation, he held the Black Iron Cross in his hand and pointed it at his forehead.
The Holy Emblem of the "Queen and Goddess of Navigation," the Black Iron Cross, features a cross representing punishment and redemption on the top, with a sharp anchor point representing the nautical domain at the bottom.
Breaking into the brain in this most direct and brutal manner is even faster than activating [Divine Skill: Sacrifice].
However.
Clang!
The cross slid listlessly from Ralph's hand, and immediately his entire body was paralyzed. The Bishop no longer had the strength to recite holy words, and the golden ring subsequently shattered.
"Haha, have you forgotten, Bishop? I also prepared your dinner tonight.
What I love most is watching humans go from hope to despair, ultimately having even their chance for sublime sacrifice taken away. Ah, it's so wonderful!"
Face, neck, hands... The flesh and skin of the priest "Reid" had disintegrated into continuously writhing maggots, forming a horrifying, amorphous human figure wrapped in priestly robes before Ralph.
White maggots occasionally fell from its body and squirmed back inside the robes.
Even the fearless-to-death old Bishop, seeing such a desecrated, grotesque monster, felt his scalp tingle and every hair stand on end.
He could only watch helplessly as the other extended a finger composed of wriggling maggots, slowly pointing toward his forehead. The nauseating stench filled his nose first, making his stomach churn.
Imagining the horror of maggots boring into the brain bit by bit is simply an agony worse than death.
However.
When the [Corrupt Odorous Crawler] was about to touch the old Bishop's skin, it suddenly halted its motion and swiftly retreated.
The next moment, a shout like a spring thunder exploded in the room:
"Gotcha!"
A tall figure clad in a sleek black modified military uniform, vibrant as blazing sun and thunderstorm, abruptly appeared before the retreating Crowned Demon.
Above, a sea of thunderbolts erupted, and a strikingly sharp blade of incandescent white light, resembling both a swordfish and a saber, leapt forth, fiercely slashing at the Crowned Demon.
[Scenic: Thunderous Dragon Roar]
"What?!!"
A cry of alarm followed.
Screech——
The razor-sharp, incandescent white lightning sliced it in half, then struck a semi-melted large hole through the cathedral roof.
However.
When the electric glow slightly subsided, the opponent had already vanished, leaving only two empty robes drifting to the ground.
Aiven, standing in the middle of the room with a slight frown, was not too disappointed. He had never expected to kill a Tier 4 Transcendent, known for their elusive nature, with a single blow.
Looking at the numerous maggot corpses scattered on the ground, he got what he truly wanted!
"Bishop, how are you?"
At this time, Milan also used [Space Jumpboard] to jump in, supporting the limp old Bishop back onto the chair and pouring a bottle of Holy Water down his throat.
There are not many proper cities on this New Continent.
The capital of the Broken Star Sea Coast Zone, "Huarez," was a large city established when the Hilus Pioneers leveled the capital of the Aboriginal Azik Empire, Tenochtitlan, and backfilled a lake, hence known as the "City in the Dried-up Lake."
Saint Seville Cathedral is a structure taller than the Marquis's mansion in the city, easily recognizable as the prophesized location, where they had been lying in wait outside for a long time.
Yet they did not detect anything unusual about the young priest, nor did they expect the opponent to directly attack the goddess's Bishop.
"How dare a mere Beloved of an Evil God act so brazenly against a Bishop of a True God?"
Before Aiven could understand this problem, a cawing sound came from the shadow beneath his feet.
"Kaka... Kaka..."
"Not just a Crowned Demon, but also a magical position capable of using shadow powers? From the corpse of the Transcendent in which it first awakened? No wonder its concealment abilities are so strong."
Upon gaining this crucial intelligence, Aiven immediately switched his [Bloodline Plugin].
At his current Wizard Level, he could equip a maximum of three at once. He switched from the attack-oriented [Giant] to [Shadow Dragon], forming a combination of [Shadow Dragon], [Flame Prison Dragon], and [Cosmic Dragon].
A few minutes later.
Having handed the Bishop over to other arriving clergy and reassured the old Bishop, Aiven and Milan walked out of the cathedral side by side.
"Although possessing the formidable strength of Tier 4, this guy remains excessively cautious. At the slightest disturbance, he immediately flees, slipperier than a mudfish. Capturing him poses a major challenge for us in terms of positioning."
The Tier 4 extraordinary essence, in addition to the high position of a demigod as a cover, makes it impossible to lock onto him with Divination Art, even if we obtain his complete bodily structure.
This is also the main reason why the Crowned Demon remains fearless after seeing the Tier 2 [Crawler] carried away by an unknown force in one wave.
Milan scratched his head, expressing his complete helplessness now; sometimes catching his tail is doable, but after alerting him, it's impossible to keep track of his whereabouts in real-time.
Then he saw Aiven pull out five or six maggots, half of which had turned into charcoal while the other half remained very fresh.
"Let's make it tell us the whereabouts of the Crowned Demon itself. In this year of absence, the progress I made is not just about you."
With red flashes of magic spiritual light at his fingertips, the most active cell in these maggots' bodies was reactivated, rapidly developing into clones identical to the mother body using the complete genetic information carried in the cell nucleus.
Even though it's Tier 4 [Crawler], a single individual comprising the whole is not a complete demon and does not possess complete wisdom. As a creature with a collective will, once dispersed, it will be instinctively driven to converge with the main body.
Of course, Aiven also conveniently added a little something extra.
By using [Genetic Hound] to insert a positioning gene into the introns, as long as they are in places that can communicate with the Spirit Realm, signals will constantly be released, allowing them to easily find that [Corrupt Odorous Crawler] along the trail!
Seeing this power comparable to "Creation," even Milan, who considers himself well-versed, couldn't help but open his mouth wide. Suddenly, he realized that creating a human before Aiven wasn't such an impressive feat after all.
Soon, five or six plump maggots transformed in "metamorphic development" before them into a swarm of buzzing gray demon flies.
"Is the demon's true form a spiral cone fly?"
"Spiral cone fly" is a highly aggressive carnivorous fly, also called "flesh-eating fly."
They attack any small wound on warm-blooded animals and lay eggs in the wound. The hatched maggots feed on the animal's flesh and blood, with a high probability of causing the host animal's death.
The demons fashioned from this prototype are even more ferocious without saying more.
Bzzz…
Watching that swarm of flies quickly vanish into the night, Aiven connected to the [Mind Network] and ordered:
"Bess is in charge of tracking the signal. Everyone, get ready; the hunt begins now! Tonight, let that reckless worm meet its end on the New Continent!"
"Received!"
On the other side of the [Mind Network], Anita, Nymph, and Serra, some of the top combat forces in the duchy, had already set out completely.
...
An hour later, at 10 PM, on the east side of the New Continent, in the Black Sea Coast Region.
Rustle, rustle, rustle...
The night was tranquil, under the bright moonlight, waves gently lapped against the shore.
In the large shadows cast by rocks, a slender crack suddenly appeared, swallowing all light. From the pitch-black walls inside the crack, a patch of red compound eyes emerged, taking in the entire scene not far away.
[Magic-like Technique: Eye of Black Spirit]
A large city, ranked among the top ten on the New Continent, lay quietly at the mouth of the Hartson River.
Even in the deep night, Long Island Port was still brightly lit. Ocean-going ships, taking advantage of the spring navigation season, were busy loading and unloading goods in a bustling frenzy, with ship owners wasting no time.
Having taken in half of the northern New Continent, the duchy clearly held extraordinary allure for ocean traders.
After repeatedly confirming there were no abnormalities here, the Crowned Demon, draped in a substantial shadow, emerged from the Shadow Realm, appearing entirely unharmed.
"Heh heh, you've angered me this time; let's start with the families and friends around you. Feel the pain bestowed upon you by the gods!"
Conflicts among human kingdoms are mostly for profit and always have rules and boundaries, but the beloved of an evil god has no bottom line.
As for reciprocal retaliation? Although Tramo Duchy serves as a base, the "Gospel Church" under the evil god's command is either carrying out terror attacks or preparing for them, without even having its own cathedral.
If you have the ability to find "Evangelical Sect" members from corners of the world, then go find them, haha...
Suddenly.
Five or six large demon flies also flew out from the Shadow Realm, then reverse transformed back into maggots, merging into its body.
The Crowned Demon paid no attention at all.
Just like observing an ant colony, there are always a few individuals in the orderly collective unaware of what they should do; it was normal for a small number of individuals to fall behind in a swarm of flies.
There was even time for a jest:
"Ha, you little guys never miss feeding time." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶
Bzzz bzzz bzzz...
Immediately, a loud buzzing sounded from under his shadowy cloak, with a fly-shaped shadow behind him dancing again, surrounded by a gust of disease-ridden wind.
The [Corrupt Odorous Crawler] was about to attack White Swan Castle, not far from Long Island Port, which served as the duchy's power center.
Yet the sky above suddenly lit up like daylight, with a golden-blue sun showering the night sky with an immense amount of light and heat.
A cold voice came from afar:
"I really can't understand; why, when your strength is so ordinary, are you so confident?"
