Beneath the pouring black rain, with a light twist of the wrist, fine raindrops drummed against the blade, stirring wisp upon wisp of a faint, airy hum.
As the dreamlike scarlet blade sliced through the air, it left behind a meandering crimson trail, like an oozing wound that refused to fade.
Not the slightest trace of hostility or frenzied violence could be felt, yet merely gazing upon that pure expanse of red was enough to send shivers down the spine, plunging the onlooker into an icy abyss!
In the deepest depths of the rampart, Frederick's eye twitched involuntarily.
He held his breath.
As the largest arms dealer in the Northern Realm, North Wind Workshop's products covered everything, from top-tier Sovereign Virtue trajectory foundation disks to alchemical ammunition and armor. Unlike other artisans who resisted firearms, they had never abandoned their development.
Yet the bedrock of their survival had always been the forging of weapons.
Precisely because of this, he felt a dread and trembling far beyond what anyone else could comprehend.
Where the hell did this monstrous thing come from?!
Since ancient times, the fastest, most effective, and most immediate way to increase a weapon's lethality had always been the most unpretentious...
A blood sacrifice was all it took.
Slaughter living beings, butcher mortals; the more you killed, the stronger the effect naturally became.
Just kill, and that was that.
To maximize blessings like Battle-Tempered Edge, countless crafts and techniques had naturally emerged: blood baths, soul-forging, ash-smelting, bone-grafting. Over so many years of collective brainstorming, not a single bit was wasted from head to toe, inside and out. Even leftover hair could be braided into sword cords to gather baleful aura and transmute spirits...
The average moral caliber of artisans was plain to see.
Yet no matter how poor an artisan's morals were, no matter how low their ethical baseline sank, it was difficult to circumvent one fundamental issue: blood sacrifices came at a cost. You couldn't have your cake and eat it too; consequences had to be borne.
While killing more certainly made a weapon stronger, it also inevitably grew more sinister and savage, making backlashes against the wielder only natural. Moreover, no matter how carefully it was used, it would ultimately succumb to the strain, crumbling into self-destruction...
The tolerance of materials and blessings had an upper limit.
Yet right now, that ceiling seemed to have vanished... It was as if even the base materials and the blessing itself had, in turn, become the sacrificial offerings!
Through an artisan's perception and observation, that ethereal, slender blade in the intruder's grip looked like a hell forged from the entanglement and smelting of countless wailing souls!
From the moment it appeared, its threat level skyrocketed at a manic pace, and it hadn't stopped. It was unimaginable what sort of horrific slaughter could spawn such a frenzied creation. It was like a crimson vortex, expanding without pause, greedily draining all souls and vitality within range!
There wasn't the slightest sign of nurturing or maintenance—it was all fucking blood sacrifices!
Sacrifice! Sacrifice! Sacrifice! Sacrifice! Sacrifice!
Sacrifice the whole damn world!
And yet, strangely enough, the aura of Sovereign Virtue within it remained so clear and pure. Even after undergoing so many blood sacrifices, there was not the faintest hint of aberration or corruption.
What made that recent strike truly formidable wasn't its terrifying destructive force, but how utterly effortless it had appeared... The savagery of the Swarm had been brought entirely under control, without even a wisp of malice or frenzy leaking through, thoroughly tamed!
Even if Frederick scratched his head bald, he couldn't fathom how the hell Ji Jue had pulled this off!
*Sorry, but that's just how we Fluid Alchemy practitioners roll!*
At a time like this, no matter how much Ji Jue loved showing off, he wasn't about to blare through loudspeakers all over his frame to explain to his opponent just how profound and brilliant his moves and plans were.
Quite the opposite.
The moment he realized sneaking an easy victory had failed, his offensive strategy shifted completely.
If there was no room for clever tricks, then a frontal clash it would be!
In that instant, crimson light erupted across the steel visage of the Assault Niuma.
The engine revved violently. Amidst the roar of boiling quicksilver, the spirit of the evil creature inside the spiritus battery shrieked in agony.
The armor surged forward like a comet, whipping up a tempest across the earth.
Flowing scarlet quicksilver seeped from beneath the plating, washing over the surface until the massive suit looked bathed in blood. In the blink of an eye, the rampaging blood comet plowed headlong into the massive phalanx of puppets.
Amidst the thunderous roar, the silhouette of the armor was impossible to discern. One's gaze couldn't even keep up; all that could be glimpsed was a winding scarlet afterimage blazing forward.
Wherever it passed, under the sweep of the blade, every obstacle disintegrated completely. Like a hot knife through wax, it effortlessly obliterated them all like mere dust!
Only at the moment it banked to change direction could one catch a fleeting glimpse of its form.
Cushioned by six layers of liquid quicksilver that absorbed pressure and impacts, it completely disregarded the G-forces of acceleration. At this moment, the Assault Niuma truly unveiled the terrifying dominance of power armor on a frontal battlefield.
It was practically a supersonic fighter jet sprinting across the ground on two legs. Wherever it passed, it didn't even need to swing its blade; the shockwave generated by its sheer speed was enough to grind countless mass-produced puppets to dust!
The only heavy weapons capable of dealing damage to the armor couldn't lock onto his position at all.
Fast!
Far too fast!
After gathering data from the previous battle, Ji Jue had retooled and upgraded the armor, shedding weight by stripping away numerous heavy yet ineffective plates and adding two sets of maneuvering thrusters to push its speed to the absolute limit.
This was the next generation—Assault Niuma Mark III!
As more blessings unlocked and point totals climbed, an artisan's destructive power would only grow increasingly exaggerated. Unless one defended with creations backed by equivalent blessings, the protection offered by plain metal was practically negligible. Therefore, he might as well entrust defense to Metallic Quality and Form of Utmost Resilience to withstand the unavoidable attacks speed alone couldn't dodge. Even if damaged, quicksilver could be used for temporary repairs.
Then, all remaining spiritus and power could be poured into the engines and weapons!
Thereby maximizing destructive lethality!
As long as I cut everyone down before they can cut me down, there's no need for defense!
Now, even knowing full well that Ji Jue's defense might be barely tougher than paper, Frederick simply couldn't lock onto his target.
Even spiritus tracking was disrupted and thrown into disarray by the swirling vortex radiating from that bizarre, murderous blade!
In just a few breaths, the outer defensive line bolstered by sheer numbers was shredded like vegetables. Without pausing for breath, the armor arrived abruptly before the rapidly sealing gates.
And then, blood-red light surged on the long blade—
Eruption!
Upon the blade, the Solid Alchemy locks formed by countless spiritus circuits loosened for a fraction of a second...
And so, the monster forged from slaughtering countless aberrant beasts and sacrificing all the blood of evil creatures opened its eyes in the darkness.
Just like that, gently, it stretched its body.
Like a colossal scarlet tree suddenly taking form, endless branches spread boundlessly in all directions before converging together, ultimately becoming a crimson deluge that bridged heaven and earth!
Slash!
No deafening roar was heard, only a faint reverberation rippling out like a sob.
Cracks resounded without end as countless runes flashed and dissipated. The rampart shook violently, and then a fissure several meters deep cleaved through iron and stone.
The gate was sheared in half at the waist.
It toppled backward to the ground...
Behind the gates, horn blasts sounded once more.
Empowered by numerous blessings and enhancements, the regenerated heroes drew their blades and surged forward in a reckless swarm!
And in that instant, every step Ji Jue took became an uphill battle!
In the void, infinite spiritus circuits suddenly erupted like a waterfall. Realizing he couldn't stop the assault outright, Frederick mobilized his workshop, shifting runes to weave the esoteric runic structures of the North Wind lineage.
The suppression of Tianyuan manifested amidst the howling storm.
Frost erupted from the ground, locking down the surroundings and freezing steel!
Not only that, countless ethereal chains flickered into view in the void, prepared who knew how long ago, waiting only for him to plunge right into the trap of his own accord.
Yet at that very moment, the blood blade that had been freed for a fleeting instant erupted once more!
This time, it was no longer an overwhelming torrent, but a fleeting, razor-thin phantom like shadow and dew. In a flash, it carved a straight path right through the raging storm.
The intangible chains and frost crumbled into pieces.
A crimson tidal wave surged skyward.
Rising from countless corpses and severed limbs that hadn't even had time to fall...
With the frenzied advance of the Assault Niuma and the roar of its engines, the intruder broke through the workshop's shackles and blockades, lunging forward once more into the thick of blades.
Ignoring the spears and blades piercing its armor, the blood blade in its hands lashed out, drawing a hundred times more blood. Yet before that blood could touch the ground, it converged midair toward the edge of the blade, swallowed whole.
A War Giant roared, bringing down a massive greataxe.
Yet before the greataxe could hit the ground, it crossed paths with the blood blade and snapped in two—along with the giant's ironstone arm and even its head, collapsing backward into the trampling chaos.
Bang!
Lightning flashed across the gloom, and a vast torrent of thunder came pouring forth. Scarlet and thunder intertwined as it charged forward, sending countless flecks of crimson flying.
Burned red-hot, the armor radiated terrifying heat.
From the punctures pierced by blades and spears, crimson droplets trickled down, though it was impossible to tell whether they were quicksilver or blood.
Yet whatever it was, it made no difference.
The armor merely reached out casually, pulled them free, and tossed them aside. Then, shimmering silver light emerged from the breaches, mending everything back to perfection.
Just like a full resurrection.
Only Frederick, who had been preparing his countermeasure for so long, watched with an involuntary, contorted twitch.
"Madman..."
Only now had he finally pierced through the truth concealed beneath the armor.
The instant Ji Jue stepped into the workshop, he had entered the artisan's range of observation and perception. None of the fluctuations could be hidden any longer—including the circulation and exchange of blood and vitality between him and that blood blade!
There was practically no distinction between the two.
No, they were one and the same!
Chapter 280