Chapter 204 204: A Terrifying Force Of Nature



"Its appearance is bewildering."

The giant squid was taller than Stormgazer Devil, who had attacked the train under the order of the destruction devil, Morthos.

Because of its silhouette and the color of its body, it was easy to mistake it for a walking mountain from a distance, especially at night. Voidslayer's spirit vision wasn't as sharp as Val's heavenly eye, so it had misidentified the creature as a mountain.

"So you're telling me it's actually an aquatic monster. But then what is it doing on land? And why is it heading our way?" Voidslayer questioned, its tone dripping with disbelief and unease.

"Maybe it noticed us," Val suggested casually.

"That can't be possible; we're hundreds of miles apart. How could it detect us?" retorted Voidslayer.

"If we can see it, why can't it see us?" Val countered.

"But we're just a speck compared to its vastness," Voidslayer reasoned, emphasizing the disparity in their sizes and how larger entities might struggle to spot smaller ones from a distance.

"When confronted with the unknown, never use common sense to judge them," Val uttered.

The words might've just left his mouth when his head throbbed. His supernatural sixth sense, which could detect danger a moment or two before it arrived, was blaring alarms of impending danger at him, making him realize the severity of the situation.

A moment after the warning bells went off in his head, a gusty whoosh of wind followed by a slashing sound filled the air.

Reacting purely on instinct, Val sprang to the side, barely evading a rapid tentacle tipped with a sharp triangular end that whisked past him, grazing his cheek in its wake.

A thin line of blood welled up from the cut, trickling down his face. The menacing tentacle, on the other hand, retracted just as swiftly, stretching back towards the looming figure of the enormous squid.

Gasping in a combination of shock and admiration, Voidslayer exclaimed, "Did that just happen? Did that behemoth just reach out for us from such a distance?"

Val brushed the blood from his cheek with the back of his hand and grinned, "Remember my earlier advice?"

Rolling its spirit in mild annoyance, Voidslayer replied, "Fine, point made. But we have a more pressing issue. How do we deal with that leviathan now that it's focused on us?"

Val beamed, "Of course, we fight."

With little warning, the Giant Squid unleashed a surprise assault. Its tentacles, each ending in a sharp triangular tip, stretched impossibly across thousands of miles, aimed directly at Val.

As it was night, the forest was submerged in darkness. Moreover, it was thick with trees and foliage, both of which acted as covers that hid its tentacles from the naked eye. Unfortunately for it, all obstacles were semi-transparent to Val as his heavenly eye was active.

Its insidious plan was clearly visible to him!

Determining he won't be able to dodge them relying on his current speed, Val activated his Blood Rush skill, immediately doubling his agility.

With more than 60 points in agility, he weaved around the hurtling tentacles, evading each potentially deadly strike.

And then, he counterattacked. Grasping Voidslayer firmly, he swung the blade with precision and deadly intent. As the sword made contact with the scaled tentacles, it sliced through them effortlessly. It wasn't just Val's strength that made the feat possible; it was Voidslayer's intrinsic ability to negate all defenses, rendering even the most armored foes vulnerable.

Although the giant squid only felt it had been tickled when Val cut off 7 of its tentacles, it found it disgraceful and its eyes bubbled up with annoyance. It had never considered the possibility of being harmed by a mere prey. Yet, something so surreal actually happened, pissing it off.

'I want him dead!'

The giant squid now only had murder on its mind and it was coming for Val!

Staring at the behemoth, Val muttered, "It can launch such an intricate barrage of tentacles from miles away. Its capabilities are truly chilling."

"Master, I'm certain we can't take this creature down." Voidslayer said, "Perhaps it's wiser to retreat."

"Combat isn't always about triumphing over the foe. At times, the knowledge and insights gained from confronting a formidable opponent are more precious than victory itself. Every battle teaches and every challenge refines. I'll only consider burning a trump card to escape when we're truly cornered, with no other options left," Val said profoundly.

Observing Val's deft evasion of its initial strikes, the colossal squid altered its strategy. Rather than singular, direct strikes that Val could easily evade, its tentacles began to surge from every conceivable direction, forming a net-like pattern aimed at ensnaring Val in an inescapable trap.

"Shadow Bind!"

Without hesitation, Val invoked his level 1 shadow rune. Immediately, shadows surged upwards from the forest floor, morphing into thick, taut ropes of black. With startling speed, they shot forth, latching onto the rapidly approaching tentacles and wrapping around them tightly. As a result, the momentum of the giant squid's tentacles was abruptly halted, stopping just inches away from Val, their progress thwarted by the formidable Shadow Bind spell.

Almost simultaneously, a myriad of invisible blades, a result of Val's masterful wizardry, emerged, slicing through the tentacles. They were cut into myriad segments, falling lifelessly to the ground. Since he didn't met much resistance when he cut apart the tentacles with Voidslayer, he was able to tell that soul swords were sharp enough to chop apart its scale-covered tenatcles like fish on a chopping board.n./oV-el-usB)c(o-M

"It's too distant. If I dispatch my swords towards it, they'll fall short of their mark." Val assessed.

"This bastard is a bigger nuisance than I thought."

From afar, a deep, rumbling noise resonated from the giant squid. It was a clear indication of the squid's mounting frustration.

"Master," Voidslayer said in a voice that was trembling slightly, "I sense a tremendous surge in energy. Something big is coming."

"I'm aware, but thanks for the heads up," Val replied.