Return of the Mythic Bloodline-Chapter 404: Corruption of Death

Five hundred years ago, the Western Continent was divided into numerous small kingdoms that were constantly at war with one another, seeking to devour their rivals and expand their own power. It was a ruthless, dog-eat-dog world.

The seven major kingdoms of that era were Ironvale, Thornwall, Valencrest, Stormhold, Ravenmoor, Silvergard, and the Hundred Sky Mountains, though the last one did not concern itself with the affairs of the Western Continent.

It was during this chaotic age that a legendary figure emerged: Valerious Solaris.

He began his conquest of the Western Continent, unifying the kingdoms beneath his banner. Through his extraordinary strength and meticulous tactics, he brought six of the seven major kingdoms to their knees, forcing them to swear absolute loyalty to him.

He proclaimed these six kingdoms as duchies and established the Azure Sun Empire.

Over time, these duchies became the absolute pillars of the empire.

Now, during the reign of Kharos, the current six dukes had reached the Eternal Sage Realm, becoming the strongest warriors of the empire.

One such warrior was Astrid Ironvale. His mastery and talent in weaponry had surpassed all of his predecessors. Under his rule, Ironvale soared to new heights with its advanced war machines, weapons, and armor, all personally designed by him.

His obsession with weaponry awakened a unique Weapon Attribute within him, allowing his body to transform into any weapon while also inheriting the properties of the metal he touched.

This ability made him nearly invulnerable and untouchable, turning him into one of the empire’s greatest assets.

And now, that asset had been destroyed under the fury of a young god.

The moment Taranis brought down his blade in a sudden jolt, Astrid, standing a few metres away, felt a stinging pain spread through his body. Slowly, a vertical red line appeared on his body from head to crotch. Beads of blood began to leak, and before he realized it, his body was sliced into two and opened like a book split along its spine.

"It’s far from the level of Senior," Taranis murmured, gazing at the catastrophe he had unleashed.

Behind Astrid’s split body, the earth had been cleaved into an expanding V that stretched for dozens of kilometres. In the sky, a similar V had been carved through the clouds, exposing the blue sky beyond them.

The battle was over. Taranis had emerged victorious, yet he did not feel the satisfaction he thought he would after killing him. His fury had not calmed in the slightest. He wanted Astrid to regenerate like he had during the battle so he could kill him again. He wanted to slaughter any being related to him.

His eyes turned toward the Ironvale Fortress in the distance. He wanted to destroy that as well. He wanted to slaughter every citizen of that kingdom, just as Astrid, along with the other Dukes and the Empire, had done to his family and sect.

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Strange, ominous voices whispered in Taranis’s mind, pounding his head with unbearable pain.

"You are not capable of meddling with my mind!" Taranis muttered through gritted teeth.

Ding...

"The Skill Unshakable Mind is resisting the corruption of death!"

Slowly, the voices faded and eventually vanished, though the throbbing headache remained.

Taranis’s grip on his sword loosened as blood leaked at a terrifying rate from the wound where his arm had been torn away.

His Sea of Soulforce turned chaotic, and his body began to glow with a golden radiance.

"Vivi, do I have enough Soulforce to activate Ruru’s blessing if I suffer a critical injury now?"

"No. The Host does not contain enough Soulforce to activate Ruru’s blessing."

The last skill Taranis had unleashed had nearly emptied his Sea of Soulforce, so it was obvious he did not have enough to activate Ruru’s blessing, which consumed a considerable amount of Soulforce. When Taranis reached the Transcendent Realm, his body had evolved. As a result, Ruru’s blessing now required even more Soulforce to heal the injuries of a stronger body.

The air around Taranis began to stir, and he felt his Soulforce surging within him.

The next moment, a gust of energy burst outward from his body, shattering the ground beneath his feet.

The wounds along his sides began healing. The melted skin on his stomach regenerated, and the gap in his left shoulder slowly started to fill.

Ding...

"Congratulations! The Host has successfully broken through! The Host’s level has increased.

Level Two Transcendent Realm → Level Three Transcendent Realm.

All stats +50."

While Taranis’s body healed, the Sect Masters who had witnessed the battle remained completely stunned by Taranis’s final move.

They could not tear their widened eyes away from the sky-splitting and earth-shattering skill he had just unleashed.

Aurelion was the only one who remained unaffected by the spectacle, or at least that was what his unreadable expression suggested.

"What about your arm?" Aurelion asked as he approached Taranis, who was now fully healed but missing an arm.

Breaking through to the next level could heal all injuries, but it could not regenerate what had already been lost. Ruru’s blessing was also useless now. It would have regenerated his arm if it had been activated before the breakthrough, but now that the wound on his shoulder had closed, the blessing would no longer restore the missing limb.

"It’s just an arm," Taranis replied in a cold tone, hiding his exhaustion beneath his helm.

Aurelion frowned upon hearing that answer. They had only claimed victory over one Duchy, and Taranis was already in such a condition.

Aurelion did not say it aloud, but he could sense that Taranis’s mental state was far from stable. He wanted to tell him that the burden he carried was not his alone, that he did not need to push himself so far, that...Nymeria would not want to see him in such a state.

Aurelion opened his mouth to say those words, but then closed it again.

He could not say them. He feared that if Taranis stopped pushing himself, he might not reach the level required to heal Nymeria in time.

In the end, he was just a helpless father who wished to see his daughter healthy again.