NOVEL NEXT Chapter 642
Chapter 642: That’s Really Terrible. (2)
[It stood like a massive ancient tree, but it was far from an ordinary giant. Its skin was cracked like rotting bark, with sticky spores and mold growing between the fissures, shining in green and purple hues.]
[Its face was even more horrific. One cheek had completely rotted away, revealing twisted teeth and jawbone. There were five eyes, glowing reddish at the forehead and temples.]
[On its back, a gigantic tumor had formed. Spores constantly burst forth from it. Any creature that inhaled these spores began to rot slowly.]
[It had four arms, each decaying in different ways. Bones jutted out, and putrid flesh oozed and dripped, sticky and slimy.]
[With every step it took, the ground beneath rotted away. Each time it opened its mouth, a thick, black poisonous mist billowed out. Organs visible between the rotting flesh emitted dark, viscous fluids.]
[What remained in its wake was only decay and disease. To this being stronger than any creature in the Forest of Monsters, we bestowed a name in ancient tongue.]
[The Lord of Decay and Disease, Morbus.]
A gigantic shadow loomed between the rotting trees. As we drew close enough to discern Morbus’s form, the stench of rotten flesh filled the air.
With every step Morbus took, a horrific sound echoed, as if something were being sucked into a swamp.
Soon, Morbus noticed the intruders and let out a loud roar.
GAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!
Just a single cry, and the poisonous mist instantly spread in all directions. It was a poison so potent that any ordinary knight would fall the moment they inhaled it.
But those present were anything but ordinary.
“Ugh… It’s toxic.”
Jerome grimaced and waved his hand. Immediately, an air purification spell unfolded around them.
GEEEHHHHH!
Even with the air purification spell in place, the rotten poison didn’t disperse easily. It was that powerful.
However, those gathered here were capable of suppressing the poison’s effects themselves. And Piote was with them too.
“O Goddess!”
As Piote prayed, a brilliant light of purification radiated from him. It exceeded the cleansing power of Jerome’s spell by far.
CHIIIIIIIIII!
The flames of purification swiftly incinerated the surrounding poisonous mist. Simultaneously, it purified the poison that had permeated the superhumans’ bodies.
Parniel gripped his mace tightly and turned to Ghislaine.
“I can see the heart. Should we smash it?”
The heart, emitting dark, viscous fluid, throbbed wildly among the rotting flesh.
[…Morbus had no weak points. Count Kayen Valjack had split Morbus’s heart, but it remained completely unscathed. Instead, Valjack was counterattacked and had no choice but to retreat due to his injuries.]
Ghislaine shook his head.
“No, it’s useless. We need to pulverize it to dust.”
“How do you know all this?”
Ghislaine grinned as he replied.
“Don’t you know? I’m rumored to be a saint. The goddess tells me everything in my dreams.”
Parniel chuckled incredulously. If it weren’t for the current situation, he would have swung his mace at Ghislaine’s head and started an inquisition.
Setting the inquisition aside, Parniel declared.
“I’ll go first.”
Ghislaine asked.
“Remember what we talked about earlier?”
“Yeah. Once you give the signal, I’ll unleash everything I have.”
“I’ll take out one of its arms.”
“Got it.”
Parniel released his divine power and charged ahead.
The others followed closely behind her.
GEEEEEHHHHH!
Morbus’s massive palm came crashing down toward Parniel.
As the shadow of death loomed closer, Parniel unfolded a shield of light.
KWAAN!
With the collision, a stunning flash burst forth.
The light shield blocked the attack, but it didn’t completely negate the shock. Parniel was thrown backward, a powerful force corresponding to its size.
Taking advantage of Parniel’s defense, the others attempted their attacks.
FLASH!
KWAQWAQWAQWAQWANG!
Thunderbolts struck Morbus’s body as Jerome and Vanessa’s magic hit first.
The rotting flesh exploded, and dark fluids gushed forth like a waterfall.
GEEEEEHHHHH!
While Morbus’s entire body was decayed, it felt no pain. But in response to its flesh being destroyed, it let out a roar of fury.
SQUACK! KWAJIKE!
Before the roar had even ended, Yulien and Gillian, who had approached unnoticed, each slashed at Morbus’s ankle.
The incredibly thick ankle was severed in half in an instant.
PAK!
Belinda’s dagger pierced into Morbus’s joints, aiming to disable its movements.
However, Morbus felt no issues moving. The sticky black ooze continued to drip out, reattaching the severed parts.
GAAAAAAAAAAAACK!
Morbus attempted to swing all four arms simultaneously. It sensed an approaching presence from above and looked up.
KAGAGAGAGAKA!
Ghislaine’s aura blade gleamed as it split Morbus’s head in half.
If it were a normal monster, it would have died immediately. But Morbus was like a corpse already.
Between the split face appeared a dark hole.
From that hole,
PAK!
A breath of death poured forth like a waterfall, engulfing Ghislaine.
“Ugh!”
Ghislaine, struck by the overwhelming poison, staggered momentarily, his head spinning as if he’d consumed strong liquor.
Simultaneously, his body began to rot. His purplish skin cracked, with dark fluids flowing out.
He looked like a walking corpse.
GAAAAAAAA!
One of Morbus’s remaining arms came crashing down on Ghislaine, who managed to narrowly dodge and took a deep breath.
“Phew!”
Meanwhile, the others again charged at Morbus, attempting to attack. Thanks to this, Ghislaine could retreat further and catch his breath.
KWAANG! KWAANG! KWAANG!
GEEEEEHHHHH!
Morbus screamed a dreadful roar and danced wildly, swinging its four arms. Its enormous hand sliced through the air, and bones shot upward into the ground.
Thanks to the relentless flailing of its arms, everyone struggled to approach.
However, Morbus found it equally hard to attack Ghislaine’s group. Jerome and Vanessa continuously showered it with spells from a distance, causing Morbus’s flesh to explode repeatedly.
GAAAAAAAA!
With a roar filled with rage, dark poisonous energy erupted from Morbus’s body.
In an instant, the surroundings were cloaked in pitch-black darkness. A mist of death from which no one could escape.
CHIIIIII!
Yet the people could move without being severely harmed by the poison, thanks to Piote’s light of purification.
The light of purification blocked the infiltration of decaying poison. The poison burned away whenever it touched their bodies.
However, Ghislaine, who stayed further back, was the exception. He had informed them not to cast the light of purification on him.
The powerful poison aided in his growth.
“Huff!”
He took a deep breath, trying to intake as much poison as possible.
GAAAAAANG!
The five cores within Ghislaine spun wildly. The cores began to absorb the powerful poison that entered his body, converting it into mana.
The rotten flesh began to regenerate, and the purplish skin returned to its original color.
“This is a bit too intense.”
It was stronger than he had anticipated. Even he, who was resistant to poison, felt momentarily dizzy and sensed a life-threatening danger.
But the more dangerous it was, the greater the effect. Like swallowing a Dragon Heart, mana exploded within Ghislaine’s body.
“Ugh… Ugh!”
As mana surged to its limits, Ghislaine coughed up black blood.
He could no longer absorb it and had to spit it out.
CHIIII!
The black blood that fell to the ground evaporated, emitting poisonous fumes.
“Ah, it’s a shame, but it can’t be helped. I’ll just have to eat while fighting.”
Wiping his mouth, Ghislaine’s eyes glinted sharply.
He had anticipated this battle against Morbus ever since he saw the diary. He knew that the stronger the poison he encountered, the stronger he could become.
[Due to the poisonous mist, we couldn’t even approach Morbus. With every step forward, they all succumbed to poisoning, quickly rotting away. Thus, we had no choice but to assemble a large-scale priesthood and mages to prioritize purification….]
In his previous life, the Delphine Faction had failed multiple times because of this poison.
They had no effective way to counter the poisonous mist spewing out in all directions.
But all the superhumans here could withstand the poisonous mist. Plus, the divine powers radiated by Parniel and Piote protected them.
So Ghislaine could focus on absorbing the poison at ease.
DUDUDUDUDUDUD!
In an instant, the fifth-stage core activated, and Ghislaine launched himself at Morbus. His aura blade had grown even larger than before.
KWAAN!
A flash erupted as one of Morbus’s enormous arms was severed.
This was the signal—the indication that Ghislaine had absorbed enough poison.
At the same time, the other superhumans unleashed their full strength without holding back.
GEEEEEHHHHH!
Before Morbus’s scream could finish, Yulien’s sword gleamed. His will flowed through the blade, radiating brilliant light.
SQUACK!
Yulien’s sword also managed to slice off one of Morbus’s arms. From the severed arm’s cross-section, black smoke poured out like a waterfall.
Parniel didn’t miss this moment. Her mace, charged with divine power, struck the cross-section.
KWAAN!
CHIIII!
The decaying flesh burned and hardened, preventing any further black ooze from seeping out.
Before long, Belinda emerged from the shadows behind Morbus.
“Piote! To my weapon!”
PAK!
Belinda launched dozens of daggers infused with radiant divine power.
DUDUDUDUDUDDUCK!
The daggers stabbed into Morbus’s back like a meteor shower. The divine power imbued in the daggers invaded Morbus’s body.
GAAAAAAAA!
Morbus wailed. Though it felt no pain, the divine power spreading within was unbearable.
It constricted its body, striking its very soul.
While Morbus writhed in pain, Gillian continued to strike at its ankle.
SQUACK! SQUACK! SQUACK!
Like a lumberjack chopping down a giant, Gillian persistently attacked one of Morbus’s ankles.
KWAAN!
Finally, after losing one ankle, Morbus wobbled unsteadily.
GEEEEEHHHH!
As it stumbled, Morbus raised its remaining arm, attempting to crush Gillian.
DUDUDUDUD!
However, unlike before, Morbus’s hand moved slowly. That was because Jerome’s gravity magic was binding Morbus’s arm.
GAAAAA!
It was a gravity magic powerful enough to crush ordinary monsters, but Morbus endured it and kept moving.
“Get back!”
Jerome shouted, and those attacking Morbus hurriedly retreated.
In the sky, Vanessa hovered. When she reached out, a huge spear of flame shot toward Morbus.
KWAAN!
The moment the first spear pierced Morbus’s belly, a tremendous explosion echoed across the ground.
KWAANG! KWAANG! KWAANG!
In an instant, the sky turned crimson. Many spears of flame exploded in sequence, puncturing Morbus’s body.
Black fluid and spores erupted from the flames, and soon the surrounding swamps and trees were ablaze.
CHIIII!
Although the fire engulfed Morbus’s body, the loathsome black ooze continued to extinguish the magical flames.
Amidst the flames that ebbed and flowed, a noxious smoke billowed heavily.
Yet Morbus survived. Even while being torn apart, pierced, and burned, it wouldn’t fall.
KWAANG! KWAANG! KWAAN!
With Ghislaine leading the charge, the superhumans launched another assault. Lightning-fast attacks continued to carve away at Morbus’s flesh.
GEEEEEEHHH!
Morbus kept screaming. It had reigned over this forest as a deity, yet it suddenly felt threatened by these intruders.
Even the slightest brush from Morbus’s attacks melted clothes and rotted flesh.
However, Parniel and Piote’s divine powers swiftly healed their wounds. As long as these two fought together, Morbus struggled to exert its true power.
And they were experienced enough to have taken down dragons before. No matter how powerful Morbus was, it couldn’t withstand their concentrated assaults.
KWAAN!
GEEEEEHHH!
Ghislaine’s sword sliced deep into Morbus’s body once more. Now, the one controlling the battlefield was no longer Morbus.
As Ghislaine continued to absorb poison, he grew stronger, becoming the natural predator to Morbus.
KWAANG! KWAANG! KWAAN!
Unlike the past when Parniel took the lead, this time Ghislaine spearheaded the attack against Morbus.
With Morbus’s attention drawn to his fierce assaults, the others followed up seamlessly.
POW! POW! POW!
Thus, Morbus’s flesh began to disassemble like meat in a slaughterhouse.