Chapter 1274 1274. Clash
The quasi-rank 7 Eternal Snake never stopped. It chased after Noah even when his presence vanished.
The creature wasn"t stupid. The underlings in the heroic ranks were almost intelligent beasts, so the leader was even smarter. It could vaguely understand what Noah was trying to do.
That understanding mostly came from its instincts. The leader knew that the world was in danger, and Noah"s actions taught it about the solution to that issue.
Still, the quasi-rank 7 Snake was a magical beast. There was a limit to how much it could care about Noah"s good intentions. The creature mostly felt anger at the sight of its dying pack.
Anger wasn"t the only feeling that spread in its mind. The leader saw how Noah never spent more than a few instants in each region, and the destruction that he could unleash in that short time was worthy of respect.
Tens of rank 6 Snakes had already died by his hand, and the leader had yet to reach him. The quasi-rank 7 specimen had to accept that its opponent wasn"t a simple invader.
That acknowledgment gave birth to another feeling inside the leader. A tinge of fear appeared among its anger. Noah had managed to make the quasi-rank 7 creature worried.
Of course, Noah wasn"t aware of that. He could learn about it if he paid attention to the leader, but his mind could only think about the location of the next packs.
The continuous sprint through his dimension had yet to affect his centers of power, but Noah knew that drawbacks would arrive soon. His movement technique wasn"t ideal for long distances, and he had to pay a hefty price to cross entire regions with it.
Noah didn"t have any other option. The Warp spell was too slow and would ultimately let the leader reach him if he started to rely on it. Moreover, he wouldn"t mind dealing with the consequences of his actions if he succeeded in his mission.
The fourth pack eventually appeared in his vision. Noah saw twelve Snakes after he came out of his dimension, and he didn"t hesitate to place his blade on his forehead once his mental waves branded those creatures.
Twelve black lines formed and severed the heads of those creatures in half. Noah had managed to perform a perfect attack in that harsh situation. He had finally become used to his current level of power.
Noah stored a few corpses and sprinted again. Yet, a deafening roar reached his ears before he entered his dimension.
The cry was close. The leader had almost reached him, and that put even more pressure on Noah"s mind.
"Thirty-eight underlings, three peak rank," Noah updated the kill count in his mind as he flew through his dimension.
He didn"t know if he could make it till the last pack before the leader caught up with him. Still, he wasn"t willing to stop now that he had come so closer to completing his goal.
A ma.s.sive presence became visible in his dark dimension. Noah could see that the leader was gaining ground. According to his calculations, the two would meet as soon as he reached the last pack.
His math wasn"t perfect, but he had a chance of ending his mission during that hunt. Noah didn"t even think about escaping when he understood that he could fix the world in one last sprint.
The presence behind Noah became bigger. Noah heard the leader"s roars from inside his dimension, and the pressure they generated threatened to interrupt his movement technique.
Yet, Noah endured that pressure as he pressed forward. His ambition also reappeared to raise his centers of power a bit more and give him the chance to reach the last pack before the leader.
The leader moved faster than him even after the last empowerment. Noah was almost about to give up on his hunt at some point, but a few lights suddenly appeared in his vision and made him throw those thoughts in the back of his mind.
Noah came out of his dimension and turned. A dozen rank 6 Eternal Snakes were in front of him, but he had to take care of the threat behind him before aiming for those creatures.
A ma.s.sive reptilian head filled his vision when he turned. Noah saw the quasi-rank 7 Eternal Snake up close for the first time. The creature resembled a slithering dark-green river that filled the world with a silver radiance.
The leader leapt toward Noah as soon as it sensed his aura. It had waited for that moment since the beginning of that chase. Its anger was about to explode. It couldn"t wait to rip the intruder to pieces.
The world in Noah"s eyes slowed down as his concentration reached its peak. He could see the leader spreading its mouth as it flew toward him, and he raised his sword as he prepared his attack.
Laws replaced the matter in his vision. Noah had less than an instant to prepare his attack, but that time was more than enough to call upon all his power.
Black smoke and dark matter flowed out of his body to create layers of armors that empowered his physical might. His figure began to radiate a sharpness that opened cuts in the fabric of the sky.
The Demonic Sword began to radiate a similar sharpness. The blade trembled as dark matter started to leak out of its body.
The leader reached him as soon as Noah completed those preparations. He didn"t have the time to perform a slash, but he didn"t need to deploy a sword art in that situation.
The leader"s upper mouth and the Demonic Sword clashed as Noah wielded it with both his hands. A ma.s.sive pressure fell on his arms as he and the creature exchanged their first attacks.
The layers of armors on his arms and shoulders exploded into a storm of corrosive gas and raging dark matter. His bones also screeched as he tried to fend that creature off.
Noah eventually had to give in to the ma.s.sive physical strength that had landed on his body. Still, a cold smile appeared on his face when he saw the leader in a similar situation.
The clash had flung Noah away, but it had also stopped the leader"s charge. A deep cut had appeared on the creature"s mouth too, and Noah"s sharpness continued to inflict damages in that spot even after the main slash lost its power.
Noah had just confirmed that he could injure a quasi-rank 7 creature and that his physical might was almost on its level. Moreover, he had obtained those results without learning the depths of his new power.
There was a chance that he could defeat the quasi-rank 7 specimen already if he went all-out. However, the world had yet to return to a condition when it could withstand a battle between the two.
Noah crashed on the frozen region, and he disregarded his momentum to focus on the creatures around him. His mind could only sense eight rank 6 Snakes in that situation, and Noah quickly placed his blade on his forehead to kill them.
Black lines appeared in front of the Snakes and cut their heads in half. Those creatures died right after announcing their leader"s arrival, and the quasi-rank 7 creature watched that happening in front of its eyes.