hsntnovel Chapter 158: First Lord Kill - Huge Explosion!
Chapter 158: First Lord Kill - Huge Explosion!
The plot is heating up: Update! Come check out Cola Novels!
All the magical lights shattered, leaving only a few metal fragments burning with eerie green flames, providing a faint light source.
Jiang Ming struggled to loosen the black iron chains, his bones creaking and grinding as he stood up unsteadily.
His face was covered in blood, his armor was shattered into pieces, and his once handsome combat uniform was now just a tattered rag.
He casually pulled out a bottle of intermediate-level recovery potion, bit off the stopper, and drank it down.
The cooling medicinal liquid spread throughout the body, slightly suppressing the severe internal injuries.
Jiang Ming pulled the dagger from his thigh and limped toward the very center of the explosion.
Where Augustus had stood, a huge semi-circular pit appeared, more than ten meters in diameter and three meters deep.
The old man is not dead yet.
Or rather, he only had half a breath left.
His body from the waist down had been completely evaporated, and the disgusting tentacle on his left arm had been broken off into a piece of charcoal that smelled of burning.
The high-ranking scepter inlaid with rubies was completely destroyed, leaving not even a trace.
Augustus lay on the edge of the pit, most of the dozen or so eyes on his neck were blind, and black water kept flowing out.
The remaining few eyes no longer held the arrogance of before, only deep fear remained.
"No...impossible...what kind of power is this..." The old man kept spitting out black blood, still trying to wriggle like a severed earthworm.
The black buds on his chest were still struggling to grow, trying to trigger the effects of his immortality and repair his battered body.
But that pale, annihilating energy still clung to his wound.
The granulation tissue had barely sprouted when it was instantly eroded by this energy and turned to ashes.
His ability to recover was completely destroyed.
"An immortal body?" Jiang Ming walked to the edge of the pit, looking expressionlessly at the once high and mighty lord. "Today I'll see if you really can't die."
He walked a short distance away and picked up the greatsword that had been flung away from the pile of rubble.
Dragging his heavy steps, Jiang Ming walked up to Augustus, gripped the sword hilt with both hands, and pointed the tip of the sword directly at the disgusting head covered with eyes.
"You can't kill me! The Goddess of Light... will bring divine punishment..."
The old man let out a desperate wail.
"Go to hell and meet your goddess."
"Pfft!"
Without the slightest hesitation, the giant sword slashed down with tremendous force, cleaving the old man's head in two.
Those disgusting eyes stopped moving instantly, completely losing their life.
Jiang Ming drew his greatsword and forcefully shook off the sticky black blood from the blade.
The headless corpse twitched twice on the ground before finally turning into a pool of foul-smelling pus.
System notifications were constantly popping up in my ears.
[Defeat Augustus, Abbot of Crimson Monastery (Lv.30, Lord-level), a level above your own, achieving the first kill in the region!]
[Gained 150000 experience points.]
Current level: Lv.18. Experience progress: 41000/180000.
[Gained 4 free attribute points.]
[Complete the hidden area mission: Eliminate the Crimson Source.]
[Mission Rating: SSS]
[Special Rewards: 1 Gold-Tier Lottery Roulette Ticket, +500 Regional Reputation]
Jiang Ming let out a long breath and sat down heavily on the pile of rubble, leaning on his greatsword.
The continuous high-intensity battles, coupled with the impact of the "handheld nuclear bomb," made it extremely difficult for him to even lift a finger.
Without hesitation, he allocated 2 of the 4 free attribute points he had just acquired to Constitution, and used the remaining 2 to further increase Strength.
[Strength: 41.]
[Physical Fitness: 18.]
A powerful warm current surged through his body, and the ruptured muscle fibers began to rapidly regenerate. Jiang Ming felt the tightness and pain in his chest lessen considerably.
Several violent coughs came from the ruins not far away.
"Cough cough cough... I... I'm not dead yet, am I...?"
Marlowe crawled out from under a broken iron plate, covered in dust and with his long ears drooping.
The epic explosion just now sent him flying. If he hadn't run fast and taken cover, he would probably be cooked by now.
Chen Qi also swayed and stood up, leaning against the wall.
He wiped the blood from his nose, looked at the three-meter-deep crater, and gasped.
"Brother Jiang, that old monster... is he dead?"
"He's completely dead." Jiang Ming pulled out a bottle of water and chugged it down, then pointed to the bottom of the pit. "Go loot the corpse. First kill of a lord-level enemy, don't miss anything."
Upon hearing the words "looting corpses," Marlowe's previously listless spirits instantly lifted, and he rushed into the pit with his short legs.
Chen Qi quickly followed.
Jiang Ming sat down to rest and casually opened the system panel.
The loot from the boss monsters is extremely generous; there are still several item listings in the system notification I didn't have time to check.
[Obtained: Crimson Lord's Corrupted Eyeball (Purple Epic Material) *1]
[Obtained: Augustus's Fanaticism Notebook (Special Quest Item) *1]
[Obtained: Skill Book: Blood Boiling (Purple Epic) *1]
[Obtained: Ruined Radiance Emblem (Blue, Rare) *1]
Huge explosion!
Jiang Ming directly materialized the skill book that was glowing red into his hand.
[Skill Book: Blood and Flesh Boiling (Purple Epic)]
[Usage Restriction: Constitution attribute must be 15 points or higher.]
Jiang Ming's eyes lit up.
This is a desperate, tailor-made skill.
Combined with his current terrifying strength of 41 points, once he activates [Blood Boiling], his burst of power in a short period of time can definitely tear apart any monster below Lv.30.
Combined with his original "Iron Will," which completely shielded him from pain, he became a tireless killing machine.
"study."
The skill book in his hand transformed into a beam of red light and entered his brow.
Jiang Ming felt his heart skip a beat, his blood flow accelerated instantly, and a violent, explosive force lurked in his blood vessels.
"Boss! We're rich!" Marlowe's excited scream came from the bottom of the pit.
The goblin ran up carrying a blood-red ring about half the size of a fist.
"That old bastard was blown to bits, but this ring is perfectly intact! It's absolutely top-quality!"
Jiang Ming took the ring, and the information on the panel appeared.
【The Crimson Archbishop's Storage Ring (Purple Epic)】
[Effect: Contains 50 cubic meters of independent storage space. Includes the passive effect "Blood Qi Nourishment": Living materials or consumables placed inside will have their decay rate slowed by 90%.]
Fifty cubic meters!
Jiang Ming's current portable storage card only has 5 cubic meters, and it's already completely full.
This ring solved a large part of the logistical burden, and its "Blood and Qi Nourishment" effect is perfect for storing the [Power Core] and [Aberrant Gland] that were just dug up.
He immediately transferred everything from the storage card to the ring, and then put the ring on the index finger of his left hand.
"Brother Jiang, something's not right in the control room over there."
Chen Qi walked over with his gun and pointed at the iron gate that Augustus had just come out of.
The explosion destroyed the entire laboratory outside, but the seemingly ordinary iron door, though severely deformed, left the space behind the door frame intact, as if protected by a special energy field.
Jiang Ming stood up, stretched his shoulders, and walked towards the control room with his greatsword.
Pushing open the deformed iron door, you'll find a room of about thirty square meters inside.
The smell of blood from outside was gone, replaced by a faint, smoky fragrance.
In the center of the room stood a large desk, on which were scattered various hand-drawn mechanical drawings and anatomical diagrams.
In the corner stood several huge glass display cases, which did not contain experimental materials, but rather sets of well-preserved, gleaming paladin armor.
Jiang Ming walked to the desk.
The [Augustus's Fanaticism Notebook] that I just obtained dropped from here.
He opened a thick diary on the table.
The above records the changes that occurred at the monastery.
A plague called "Grey Death" swept through the area. To prevent the spread of the plague, the high-ranking members of the Church of Radiant Light sealed off the monastery and left them to fend for themselves.
In his despair, Augustus came into contact with some kind of "whisper" from the depths of the earth, which drove him to madness. He began experimenting with the fusion of flesh and machine on living people, attempting to create an immortal army to take revenge on the church.
"No wonder those paladins outside didn't even have heads; this old madman dismantled them all for parts." Chen Qi looked at the blueprints and felt a wave of nausea wash over him.
"Boss, look at this!" Marlowe was rummaging through drawers when he suddenly pulled out a heavy metal box from a hidden compartment under the table.
The box was covered with intricate sacred runes, which clashed with the sinister atmosphere of the control room.
Jiang Ming took it. The metal box was sealed tightly, with no keyhole. He tried to pry it open with his greatsword, but it wouldn't budge.
"There's a magical seal." Jiang Ming frowned.
He suddenly remembered the [Dyed Radiance Emblem] that had just been revealed, and immediately took it out of his storage ring and pressed it onto the groove on the surface of the box.
"Click".
The tightly sealed runes vanished instantly, and the box lid popped open.
There was no gold or silver treasures inside, nor any divine weapons, only a test tube lying quietly on a velvet cushion.
The test tube contained a viscous liquid that emitted a faint golden glow.
【The Essence of Radiant Holy Water (Gold-grade Legendary Material/Consumable)】
[Effect: Contains extremely pure life energy and divine laws. Can be used to cleanse all evil curses, or as a top-tier crafting ingredient. Direct consumption permanently increases all attributes by 5 points and grants the passive "Radiant Protection" (immunity to one fatal attack, 7-day cooldown).]
Jiang Ming's breath hitched.
Golden Legend!
This was the first time he had ever seen an item that was more than purple.
The passive ability alone, which grants immunity to one fatal blow, is enough to drive any top-tier powerhouse mad.
No wonder Augustus locked it up so tightly; the old monster clearly intended to keep it for future final evolution, but now it's all benefited him.
"If we took this to Blacklight Outpost..." Marlowe's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, his mouth agape as he swallowed hard. "Boss, that warlord Gareth would absolutely trade the entire outpost's armory for it!"
"What the hell?" Jiang Ming unhesitatingly pulled out the stopper of the test tube, tilted his head back, and poured the mouthful of golden liquid down his throat.
The only way to truly benefit someone of this level of life-saving power is to consume it.
To trade?
Let alone whether Gareth will double-cross them, if the news leaks out and attracts an even more terrifying force from another world, the three of them won't even know how they died.
The golden liquid went down my throat without any burning sensation; instead, it felt like a clear spring flowing through every cell of my body.
System notification sounds rang out one after another.
[Those who consume the Holy Water of Radiance will permanently gain +5 to all attributes.]
[Gained passive skill: Radiant Protection.]
Jiang Ming clenched his fist tightly, feeling the surging power within his body, and the previous fatigue and hidden injuries were completely swept away.
Even without activating [Blood Boiling], his normal attributes alone are enough to crush that Lv.29 war behemoth.
"Pack up all the blueprints and documents you can take with you," Jiang Ming ordered.
Just then, a slight tremor suddenly came from the wall at the deepest part of the control room.
Jiang Ming immediately gripped his greatsword, and Chen Qi also picked up his rifle.
The camouflage on the wall surface slowly peeled away, revealing a metal gate engraved with intricate gear patterns.
Next to the gate was a keypad covered in dried blood.
"What is this?" Chen Qi was stunned.
Jiang Ming stepped forward and knocked on the gate with his greatsword.
The extremely thick alloy produced not even the slightest echo.
He tried pressing the keys on the keypad a few times, but there was no response.
Clearly, this door does not rely on ordinary mechanical locks.
"This pattern... I've seen it in the black market at the outpost!" Marlow leaned closer to examine it carefully. "It's a high-level combination lock that combines goblin engineering and alchemy, relying on energy resonance. If you try to break it, it might self-destruct inside."
Jiang Ming narrowed his eyes.
Augustus hid this door so deep that it must contain his most core secrets, or rather, the true secret passage beneath the monastery.
"We've already gained enough this time, there's no need to fight to the death." Jiang Ming decisively turned around. "Let's go back to the surface first. Staying underground for too long, we don't even know what the situation is like up there."
The three of them returned along the same route.
Without Augustus's mind control, the remaining low-level mutants in the underground cells and passageways all became headless flies. Instead of attacking Jiang Ming and his group, they trembled and hid in dark corners.
Half an hour later, they finally pushed open the heavy wooden door of the monastery chapel.
The sky outside had darkened, and a crescent moon, dark red, hung in the sky.
A faint smell of blood still lingered in the air, but the wandering undead and raging beasts that had once roamed around the monastery had all vanished.
The death aura emanating from a lord-level monster is enough to intimidate all low-level creatures within a radius of several miles.
"I survived..." Chen Qi plopped down on the steps, breathing in the cool air outside.
The experience of these two days was a hundred times more exciting than the past twenty years combined.
Jiang Ming opened the system panel and glanced at the time.
Nearly thirty hours had passed since they entered the monastery.
Adding the time spent traveling, this round of exploration in the other world should be coming to an end.