Chapter 1060: Skull Crushers
Flesh and metal, orc and machine, as well as the desire to kill and the will to destroy, formed the most terrifying monster in Picturesque Orchid Lake.
It was the Origin Warrior. He never tired, never retreated, and never gave up. Once he was unlocked from his seal, he would fight to the death or until he killed all the enemies he could detect. Perhaps even the last living cell under someone"s warped armor would be burned to ashes.
Moreover, the one who appeared before Meng Chao and Ice Storm to protect Blood Skull Temple was not an ordinary Origin Warrior who had only been created in recent decades.
Three huge cuneiform characters were engraved on his chest armor that was as thick as a shield. They were flashing with an extremely unnerving red glow.
Ever since Meng Chao obtained his totem armor, he had also conducted an in-depth study of the cuneiform characters used by the ancient Turan people, especially the characters that represented numbers. He had deciphered all of them.
Therefore, he could read the number written on the Origin Warrior"s chest plate.
"Two hundred and forty-nine?"
Meng Chao was puzzled. "What does this number mean?"
Next to him, Ice Storm"s expression changed, as though she was facing a great enemy. Her entire body tensed up.
"This isn"t a number. It"s his name. It seems that this Origin Warrior was the strongest ace gladiator in the Blood Skull Arena, and he has been so in the past millennium... 249!"
Ice Storm told Meng Chao that 249 had been active about three to four hundred years ago.
In his heyday, he had achieved a miracle of winning two-hundred and forty nine matches in a row in the glorious Blood Skull Arena.
Such a shocking feat had never been broken by a second gladiator until today.
Therefore, with the Turan people"s unique naming method, people had forgotten the ace gladiator"s name in the past and renamed him after the miracle.
"I see."
Meng Chao said, "Thankfully, he only won two-hundred and forty-nine matches in a row. If he won one more match, wouldn"t he be called 250?"
"Be careful. This guy is very tricky."
Facing her "old senior" from the Blood Skull Arena, Ice Storm did not dare to be careless at all. "249 is not just powerful. He is also brutal by nature and extremely cruel," she told Meng Chao solemnly.
"One should know that battles between gladiators are usually not life-and-death battles. Once the victor is decided, there is also a bit of showmanship.
"249, on the other hand, enjoys the pleasure of slowly killing his opponent before everyone"s eyes.
"Out of the two hundred and forty-nine victories he obtained, a hundred and fourteen of them were a result of him trampling his opponent to death in the arena.
"Seventy to eighty of his opponents were lucky enough to escape, but he would still tear off at least one of their limbs. Their souls were destroyed, and they were never allowed to enter the arena again.
"Very few people were able to escape 249"s hammer and leave the arena unscathed!
"Just like that, after he won 249 victories, no one was willing to fight him anymore.
"Even the most audacious and fearless warrior of Turan did not want to be pinned to the ground by 249 in front of everyone. Arm after arm, leg after leg, they were torn off and turned into a b.l.o.o.d.y meatball in the end.
"249 became extremely depressed when he could not find an opponent. He simply shifted his target to the depths of Blood Skull Temple.
"Deep in Blood Skull Temple, a pair of extremely ancient and powerful war hammers with at least 4,000 to 5,000 years of history were being worshipped. They are known as the Skull Crushers.
"As for the original owner of the Skull Crushers, that"s another story.
"You only need to know that the Skull Crushers are legendary weapons to the entire Blood Hoof Clan. For thousands of years, countless warriors have attempted to break into Blood Skull Temple and obtain the weapon"s approval. They would wave it once and unleash a blood tide.
"Unfortunately, these people either collapsed in between the layers of Blood Skull Temple"s barriers, or they were controlled and even devoured by the fierce ancient souls that lurked in the ancient weapons the moment they touched the Skull Crushers.
"Their souls, courage, and flesh were all turned into food to nourish the Skull Crushers.
"249 was slightly luckier than those unlucky fellows in the past.
"He successfully pa.s.sed Blood Skull Temple"s test and arrived before the Skull Crushers. Then, he tried to raise the pair of war hammers that contained numerous fierce souls and immeasurable destructive energy.
"Unfortunately, he had overestimated his own will and underestimated the terror of the Skull Crushers.
"Fortunately, his body was strong enough to be considered the most powerful among the countless fellows who had tried to control the Skull Crushers over thousands of years.
"As a result, he obtained a portion of the Skull Crushers" acknowledgment. Although his soul was torn into pieces by the destructive energy contained within the Skull Crusher, his flesh and blood weren"t completely devoured.
"Instead, the Skull Crushers fused with his totem armor and transformed him into an Origin Warrior, and he continued his journey of slaughter in an even more violent manner.
"After that, the Blood Hoof Clan apparently spent the lives of several dozen clan warriors to finally control and seal this most dangerous Origin Warrior.
"I didn"t expect him to be sealed under Blood Skull Temple, acting as its guardian!"
"Is that so?"
After listening to Ice Storm"s introduction, Meng Chao"s eyes sparkled, and his gaze was incomparably greedy as he stared at the ends of the other party"s arms, which were as thick as giant pillars. The pair of battle hammers in his hands were engraved with complex runes. Plus, a red glow that looked like lava and also blood plasma was flowing all over them.
"They are legendary weapons from at least four to five thousand years ago!"
Meng Chao muttered to himself, "In other words, as long as we defeat 249, we"ll be able to obtain the Skull Crushers, and our combat strength will soar?"
"What?"
Ice Storm was dumbstruck. "Did you hear what I just said? The point isn"t how much our combat strength will increase after we obtain the Skull Crusher, okay? The point is that this guy is simply impossible to—"
The word "beat" had yet to come out of her mouth.
However, the most terrifying ace gladiator in the Blood Skull Arena in the past five hundred years had already launched an attack on the two intruders.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
His two arms that were like giant pillars stirred up the air, unleashing an imposing aura that was reminiscent of a raging wave.
The two war hammers known as the Skull Crushers were about to land on their heads.
Even though the two of them were quick-witted and fast enough to retreat in midair, the war hammers landed heavily on the ground, creating an ear-splitting shockwave.
It still felt like an invisible giant wave had slammed into their chests with great force, creating ripples on their totem armors. Their sternum screamed, and their lungs groaned.
"Look, do you see it? This is the strength that 249 and the Skull Crushers possess!" Ice Storm knelt on one knee and clutched her chest as she panted.
"It"s indeed terrifying!"
Meng Chao, who had half a mouthful of blood in his mouth, vaguely said, "Why don"t we surrender?"
Ice Storm was stunned. "What did you say?"
"Don"t Origin Warriors accept surrender?"
Meng Chao swallowed his blood and spoke through gritted teeth. "That way, even if he is ten times stronger, we still have a chance to fight to the end and kill him!"
Before he finished his sentence, Meng Chao had already turned into a bolt of lightning.
His opponent was almost twice his height, and the Origin Warrior"s arm span was three to four times that of his. In addition, the ancient war hammers, Skull Crushers, had the ability to create hurricanes and shock waves, so they were effective in controlling the battlefield.
Long-range combat was disadvantageous to Meng Chao, so he had to find a way to close the distance and cut into the warrior"s inner circle.
With that in mind, Meng Chao deliberately slowed down his pace to reveal a flaw.
Sure enough, the Origin Warrior was fooled. Without any hesitation, he smashed his hammer at him.
Unexpectedly, Meng Chao was already prepared. He suddenly exerted some strength with his legs, leaving half a shadow behind as he dodged the hammer"s attack. Then, he "borrowed" the recoil of the shock wave and jumped high into the air before landing on the Origin Warrior"s arm.
He stomped heavily on the Origin Warrior"s left wrist.
As he stomped the war hammer to the ground, he simultaneously reached for the Origin Warrior"s neck.
Behind his elbows, two huge sickles were ready to be used.
The Origin Warrior let out a beastly roar. His right arm went around the back of his head, and he swung at Meng Chao from a very awkward angle.
Based on Meng Chao"s precise calculation, the warrior"s thick and strong arms would move very slowly. There would definitely be many blind spots in his attack range.
As long as Meng Chao cut into his personal s.p.a.ce, he would definitely find a blind spot and continue to attack.
In the end, when he stood on the Origin Warrior"s left shoulder, it was indeed difficult for the guy"s right arm to circle around and attack him.
However, the war hammer at the end of his right arm flew out with a whoosh.
It turned out that behind the pair of Skull Crushers, there were actually chains that were as thick as arms connected to the arm armor. It was a pair of meteor hammers that could move freely and dance like the wind. There were no blind spots at all.
"Arghh!" Meng Chao let out a weird cry. His entire body fell backward without any warning, and he narrowly avoided the meteor hammer"s impact.
The battle hammer unwittingly brushed against his breastplate. It immediately left behind a crater and opened up a ravine in the ground.
He felt that his chest had been slashed by a giant battle saber that weighed more than a hundred kilograms. The destructive force even penetrated his entire chest and traveled all the way to his spine.
However, Meng Chao did not have time to moan.
He did not even have time to spit out the blood.
That was because he was lying on the ground, at the Origin Warrior"s feet.
Boom!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Origin Warrior"s vision was blocked. If he lowered his head to take a look, he would inevitably give Meng Chao a chance to take advantage of him.
Although most of his mind had been wiped out, the ace gladiator who had won two hundred and forty-nine consecutive matches in the Blood Skull Arena had been triggered to the maximum.
He did not even look at what was below him and just stomped on whatever it was.
His feet hit the ground, making a loud noise that sounded like a heavy cannon. It was not inferior to the Tyrant Mammoth"s War Trample on Monster Mountain Range.
Meng Chao was like a loach, rolling around under the Origin Warrior"s feet.
The Origin Warrior almost stomped on Meng Chao a few times as he created a huge, transparent hole that spanned from Meng Chao"s chest to his back.
Meng Chao twisted his body into a ball of dough and dodged the Origin Warrior in an awkward or comical manner.
It was not until Ice Storm shot out three icicles at the Origin Warrior and attracted the latter"s attention that Meng Chao was able to roll and crawl away from the warrior"s range.