Chapter 468 - The Corrupt Behemoth

Before the Half-Moon Colt could even approach the Corruption Forest, the forces of corruption actively sought them out, surging towards them like a blanket covering the sky.With just one dive, the white body of the Half-Moon Colt had already turned half-black, and the following black mist was like a billowing pillar, accompanying her, as spectacular as can be.

Countless necrotic birds were once again startled into a flurry, charging angrily towards the rider and mount.

"Lord, there’s no need to make a move, I don’t feel any hostility from them; they’re here seeking help," the Half-Moon Colt reminded Gaven.

"Understood," Gaven, who had already completed his battle preparations, simply watched the necrotic flock vigilantly without launching an attack.

The Half-Moon Colt’s perception was not wrong.

Unlike the last time, the necrotic flock did not intend to collide with the rider and mount, but instead fluttered excitedly around the Half-Moon Colt, with tendrils of black mist seeping out of their bodies.

As the corruption power was drawn out, their necrotic wounds did not heal instantly, but at least the unceasing torment that plagued them day and night was effectively alleviated.

The Moando Servants were not entirely in control of these necrotic birds and beasts; it was the pain induced by the power of corruption that drove them.

Once they found an effective relief method, they instinctively sided with the other.

The situation Gaven and his companions faced this time was essentially a replay of the last one.

Still, it was the birds with milder symptoms that first encountered them, followed by those with more severe symptoms, and leading them was the suspicious Moando Servant, a dark Druid transformed into a Forest Hawk.

Only this time, they did not flee in disarray but charged towards the Forest Hawk.

Gaven was even more unreserved, pointing the Death Roar directly at the Forest Hawk—marking the enemy.

This time it was the Forest Hawk that became panicked.

The situation was completely beyond his comprehension.

Previously, they had always actively guided the powers of corruption to corrupt other beings. It was the first time he had seen someone actively guide corrupting energy into their own body; even the Moando Servants with the Seed of Moando wouldn’t dare to do so.

Because the Seed of Moando was mainly to help them resist the invasion of the corrupting power, and then work in combination with the Delay Decay Spell, Transfer Rot, and other corresponding divine spells to suppress and delay the effectiveness of the corrupting power in their bodies.

Even more beyond his understanding was that the opponent had guided such a terrifying corruption power into their own body and had not shown any signs of decay, shining black all over.

No, that’s not right.

It wasn’t just about storing corruption power so simply.

The opponent seemed to be transforming the corruption power, converting it back into the most pure life force.

How could this be possible?

This was a sacrilege.

A desecration of the great God of Corruption and Degeneration.

In this world, life force should only be corrupted, not transformed back into life force. Such existences that violate the normal cycle should be completely erased.

The Forest Hawk let out furious cries, its body swelling visibly, transforming into a giant eagle with a wingspan exceeding five or six meters in the blink of an eye.

The Druid’s Bestial Transformation.

Only this Druid’s Bestial Transformation was teeming with dark energy, many parts entwined with thorns that merged with the flesh.

But before he could launch an attack,

a thunderous roar shook the sky.

A terrifying force struck its head.

This was a combination of physical strength, spell power, and the law’s force.

The force was simply beyond the newly transcendent dark Druid’s capacity to resist.

The giant eagle’s head was blown to smithereens by a hand cannon.

Strangely, the dark Druid did not die on the spot but frantically flapped its wings, fleeing away from the rider and steed.

A mass of vines burst from the destroyed region, tangling together and regrowing a new eagle head.

Only there was no flesh, just vines, with two little white flowers taking the place of its eyes.

"Stop them, I command you, stop them," the Moando Servant howled frantically, a vast cloud of black mist billowing from his body.

Transfer Rot.

The exclusive divine spell of a Moando Servant.

As the little white flower eyes of the Moando Servant locked onto a target, a stream of black mist, as though sentient, shot out.

Once the black mist penetrated a body,

the birds screeched uncontrollably in pain, some bursting with pustules, and others writhing with white maggots frantically squirming in their necrotic wounds.

Worst of all, tendrils of vines sprawled out from the flesh.

This was not the Seed of Moando; these were alternative methods the Moando Servants devised themselves, corrupting the seeds of normal vines to enable them to grow within flesh.

This was the best homage to the God of Degeneration and Corruption and also the most effective means of control.

The driven necrotic birds could only scream in agony as they launched a suicidal attack at the Half-Moon Colt—perhaps death was also a form of liberation.

But the necrotic birds whose symptoms had already eased around the Half-Moon Colt, would not allow any harm to come to her, instinctively counterattacking fiercely.

The sky became a chaotic fray of crazed scratching, colliding, feathers, and decayed juices flying everywhere.

Accompanied by a bang, a surge of natural power erupted, and the Half-Moon Colt accelerated once again, doggedly pursuing the now terror-stricken Moando Servant.

However, Gaven’s Death Roar was delayed and did not sound again.

After the Half-Moon Colt closed within twenty or thirty meters of the Moando Servant, it appeared to run out of steam, unable to catch up with the dark giant eagle no matter how hard it tried.

It wasn’t that they really lacked staying power.

Instead, they wanted to drive this Moando Servant to lead them and locate the Corruption Lair.

They also intended to use its mouth to leak out the unique situation of the Half-Moon Colt.

Soon, Gaven and his companions realized that they didn’t need the Moando Servant to guide them. All they had to do was break through its defenses and turn beyond a mountain, and they would find the Corruption Lair.

The commotion they created was truly significant and easily recognizable at a glance.

A root as massive as the Dragon Oak Mother Tree’s main root emerged out of nowhere. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ ɴovel(ꜰ)ɪre.nᴇt

It emitted a corporeal black mist of corruption, giving the illusion that it could absorb all the light.

But upon closer inspection, one would realize that the massive root under the black mist only looked like a root and was not actually composed of wood.

At least, wood was not the entirety of its composition; inside it was like a putrid, viscous marsh, filled with all manner of rotting plants and a sticky substance made of blood and decayed water, along with various decomposing and half-decomposed creature corpses.

Normally, so many substances could not coalesce into a shape and would be scattered everywhere.

Yet the Corruption Root just lay there as if sprawled out, countless black offshoots spreading from it. The material was the same. Its roots weren’t planted in the earth but in Mystlock Locks—Necrotic Maze Locks from Mesnoel.

The originally insubstantial Maze Locks were somehow rendered semi-solid by the Corruption Root.

One would use their rear end to think and know that the Moando Servants were using this method to absorb the power of Mesnoel’s Necrotic Maze Locks for their own use.

The Moando Servant, relentlessly pursued by Gaven and Luna, bolted headfirst into the Corruption Root.

Gaven couldn’t help but wonder if it was so desperate that it was trying to commit suicide by crashing into the Corruption Root.

The scenario they had anticipated, where the Moando Servant would be swallowed by the Corruption Root and transformed into part of it, did not occur.

Instead, when he was still about ten meters away from the Root, a giant gateway split open, allowing him to pass through.

Although it was only opened for a few seconds, it was enough time for Gaven and his companions to clearly see inside.

The exterior of the Corruption Root was revolting enough, but the interior was even more disgusting. It was not solid but hollow.

The carcasses floating on the outside were dead, but inside, there were more of those not completely dead yet, looking at the fleeting gateway with a look of despair, viewing the outside world.

In addition to those swallowed, there were many Vine Fiends, druidic parasites, and other bizarre beings inside, all grotesque and detestable in appearance.

It was the key to breaking the situation, as described by Valon, the Grand Inquisitor.

But finding it didn’t mean they had a way to deal with it.

Because it was too large.

Zalanda’s Revenge Storm, if unleashed upon it, would probably cover less than a third of its body.

In front of it, Gaven and the Half-Moon Colt were as insignificant as flies.

But now, these flies recklessly charged forth.

Natural Blessing.

The Half-Moon Colt heeded Gaven’s impulsive suggestion and bestowed a Natural Blessing upon the Corruption Root.

For natural creatures, this was a blessing.

For corrupted land, it was like a spoonful of cold water poured into a hot oil pan, immediately boiling over.

The Corruption Root, resembling a small mountain range, was actually shaken by a mere fly.

It uncontrollably twitched several times, and a massive amount of Corruption Power surged toward the location of the Natural Blessing, trying to corrupt these forces of life with its horrifying Corruption Power once again.

At the same time, a new Corruption Tentacle emerged from the Corruption Root and heavily slapped toward the man and his mount.

"Mission accomplished, retreat, retreat, retreat!" Gaven shouted loudly.

The Half-Moon Colt didn’t choose to retreat directly but instead charged towards the descending Corruption Tentacles.

"Dazzle!"

Gaven kept his previous promise and did not issue a forceful command. Instead, he took out a crystal ball that radiated a blazing white light from his portable backpack and crushed it on the spot.

The divine power contained within instantly poured into the Half-Moon Colt, making her whole body emit a holy light and causing her color to fade significantly on the spot, with the green of her wings growing even more intense.

It wasn’t the spell that suddenly helped the Half-Moon Colt transform a large amount of life force

Instead, the spell granted her an enhancement of four points to Charisma, temporarily raising the limit of Corruption Power that her body could contain.

This storage-type second-tier Priest Spell was the work of Lady Olive.

It was naturally for Gaven’s portable use to temporarily enhance the Half-Moon Colt’s abilities.

The counterattack launched by the Corruption Root with its Corruption Tentacles seemed earth-shattering.

But the threat to the man and his mount was not especially high.

Because its attack speed was too slow.

As long as one didn’t panic, it would be easy to dodge.

The Half-Moon Colt not only dodged it but also flew behind the Corruption Tentacle and started running back and forth along it.

Large amounts of black mist, no, black flame, really.

Rose directly from where the Half-Moon Colt had run.

The Corruption Tentacle slowed uncontrollably, especially where large amounts of Corruption Power had been drawn away by the Half-Moon Colt. The corrupted water and decaying matter began dripping uncontrollably.

Their ability to stay cohesive and maintain unity depended on Corruption Power. When that power was swiftly drained within a short time, problems naturally arose.

But the Half-Moon Colt absorbed the Corruption Power too quickly, and the power stored in the Corruption Root was too pure and massive. Even though she only absorbed a very small part, and even with the aid of Dazzle, she quickly exceeded the limit. Her entire body, including her wings, began to glow with a black luster that started covering the green, and even the speed of transformation was affected. She had absorbed far too much and was beginning to corrode the Half-Moon Colt.