Chapter 597 - 597 - Show Of Force

A massive surge of energy, a giant shockwave shook the underground world. A semi-translucent, golden ripple of energy distorted the space as it continuously grew wider, traversing and affecting the entire battlefield. 

Skinks regardless of their belief and the faction they stood fighting for were flung away as the ring of energy passed through them. Dozens of blood-curdling, guttural cries, and roars replaced the clashing of metal in an instant. In the wake of the destructive, impossibly potent, violent show of force, only bloodied, battered bodies remain littered, sprawled on the ground. 

For some time, confusion filled the minds of many, they did not understand what had transpired, what had happened. What caused such an explosion? Was this perhaps a weapon from the other side?

All so suddenly, the previously heated atmosphere was now dead silent. Though ultimately the looming shadow of the wall of shields was no longer present, giving them a free glimpse, an unrestricted view to the inner regions of the rebels camp, the Temple Guards were not in any mood to celebrate such a minor victory. 

Their ranks were in shambles, their force was instantly destroyed, swept away with the wind of an unknown blow like they were mere dust on the road. Whilst many were lucky enough to not suffer any lasting damage, there were quite a few that weren't like so.

Broken bones, missing tails were the most minor of the injuries. Torn limbs, mutilated oftentimes dead bodies littered the dusty cavern ground for wherever their reptilian eyes could see. Shattered ribcages, held together only by the molten metal chest plates that merged, fused with their scales and flesh… In some cases, brutal, charred remains littered the landscape. It was total carnage, a gory, horrific scene of an instantaneous blood bath.

At the epicenter of all this wreckage, a deep brown scaled creature stood kneeling on one knee on the ground. His left fist, the source of the release of all this impossibly massive destruction was still connected into the ground, faintly buried under a pile of rubble in a somewhat one-man deep crater.

A faint golden shine still glimmered around his body, looking like an aura, an outline reminiscent of a being that shouldn't be walking amongst the mortal rabble. Small pebble and dust still floated around its immediate vicinity, acting as a barrier of lint.

Aiden was just as much shocked as the rest of the people around him. To say that the massive release was out of his expectations was a vast understatement. Though he did intend to hit the ground and also to somewhat do an explosive show of force, he did not expect anything at the scale of what he had just achieved. 

The destruction, the carnage, the outcome was vastly out of the realm of what he felt possible. The violent reaction his sudden release of energy had resulted in, scared even him to be completely honest.

Deep in thought, he was suddenly brought back to reality when suddenly, rings of notifications began to ring in his mind. Messages, notifications began to ring in his mind one after another, flooding his news feed in an instant.

[Creature: Draconic Skink eliminated. The host has gained 50 EXP!]

[Creature: Draconic Skink eliminated. The host has gained 45 EXP!]

[Creature: Draconic Skink eliminated. The host has gained 40 EXP!]

[Creature: Draconic Skink eliminated. The host has gained 55 EXP!]

.

.

.

[Creature: Draconic Skink eliminated. The host has gained 50 EXP!]

All in all, 21 messages came one after another, rewarding him for a gruesome deed he had just accomplished. Suddenly he was awarded 955 EXP points, which shocked him more than made him satisfied. This meant that he unwittingly reaped the lives of 21 Warriors.

21 lives from both sides were abruptly reaped. These creatures have died without even knowing what had happened, without a chance to process the reason for their untimely demise. Yet, that was not the whole list of news, not even half of it.

Next, news came from related to the state of his forces. From the resulting explosion, More than half of his Elite shieldbearers, 15 Elites from Dragan's Elite have lost either their life or their ability to stand and fight further. 

In the end, the original 36 fighters were now down to a measly 20, losing almost half of their original fighting prowess. Their Power has shot down by half, whilst their toughness was just the same, even with the bonus boost coming from their Equipment, they were barely above 25, standing at a measly 26.4 Toughness.

Whilst they suffered the most, the Spearmen Militia, being the second closest to the epicenter of the explosion also suffered a similar fate. Half of their fighting prowess and toughness were lost in the blink of an eye. 

Still, whilst the situation was still undoubtedly dire, there was indeed some faint pillar of light as well. The massive enemy forces were now nowhere to be seen. Their incredible, unnaturally high Efficiency have taken a nosedive, barely standing at 45% instead of the previous over a hundred percent was now looking much more manageable.

Not sure about the exact numbers as the System was still in the process of analyzing the changes in the battlefield, Aiden continued reading through the last section of his news feed.

[The Host's Proficiency with the Skill: Mystic Martial Arts (Level 4) have increased! Current Progress: (Level 4 - Progress: 25.00%)]

[Through the combination of powers the host has made a breakthrough! A new active skill has been created: [Primal Wrath (Level 1)!]

Though these all were undoubtedly incredible pieces of news, especially the synthetization of a new active ability, the same shock wave of Energy he had just accomplished, just in a more 'controlled' fashion, they still weren't what grabbed Aiden's attention.

No, what was the most important of all, was what was below it.

What was most shocking and have also somewhat confirmed the unease, the strain Aiden felt deep in his chest, with his core have also been confirmed with the next, and last line in his feed.

[Through the continuous usage and strain pushed on with the Host's current reserves, the Blockage in the Host's Vessel is ready to break through. Evolution is imminent to consume and process all changes. 

Estimated Time for Completion: 02 Hours 00 Minutes 00 Seconds.]

Luckily, the process, unlike before, did not start instantly, but it reacted similarly how it did with his scheduled system upgrade: It awaited acknowledgment from Aiden, the Host before jumping into it and forcing him into a vulnerable state.

Being forced into a black shell, an evolutionary cocoon in the midst of such a war, a battle would bring disastrous consequences. He would be in his most vulnerable state, and whilst he was sure that the sturdy solid outer layer could sustain a great deal of trauma, it could still easily be cracked in the span of two full hours.

Not to mention, he wouldn't be able to manage the flow of the battle and give commands to his captains at all…

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