NOVEL NEXT Chapter 256: Chapter 256: Hiding in the Abyss, Disguised as Hunters
Chapter 256: Chapter 256: Hiding in the Abyss, Disguised as Hunters
Nine-Tails shook her head. "I'm not sure. A talent can only be copied up to five times. At most, five members of the Shadow Clan can have that ability."
Talents copied using the Talent Copy Stone could not be copied again.
"Godslayer," Cand-Dragon spoke up from beside him. "This disguise talent is powerful, but it's not without a solution. If you place soul marks on the people closest to you, it will be impossible for anyone to impersonate them."
"Soul marks?" John asked, puzzled, as he'd never heard of such an ability.
"It's a simple soul spell. I'll teach you." Cand-Dragon reached out and tapped John's
forehead, directly transmitting the soul mark spell to him.
John quickly mastered the technique and immediately placed his soul marks on those around him.
Now, even if a Shadow Clan member attempted to disguise themselves as one of his companions, they would lack the soul mark, making it easy for him to see through the deception.
"John, I want to help you fight for the final treasure," Sini said, looking at him seriously.
To qualify to compete for the final treasure, one had to be a demigod.
Sini was still at the ninth tier, and with only seven days left, she needed John's help to break through to demigod.
"Don't be ridiculous," he replied, rejecting her outright. Competing for the treasure would draw out the Shadow Clan's elites, and he couldn't guarantee the safety of the women in such dangerous circumstances.
Sini looked displeased, about to argue when, suddenly, a series of spatial ripples spread through Death Land as a large number of powerhouses descended.
Everyone became instantly alert.
They were all upper-tier gods from the Gods, Angel Race, and Orc clans.
They led by Heidern himself.
"Godslayer!" Heidern, his face pale and bloodied at the corner of his mouth, hurriedly called out to John upon seeing him. "The Shadow Clan has arrived."
John's expression darkened.
Cand-Dragon looked at Heidern, immediately asking, "Even you, as The Overseer, can't deal with them?"
Heidern gave a bitter smile and shook his head. "You're overestimating me. The Shadow Clan's methods are bizarre. I barely escaped with my life. This time, they are truly enraged, and I fear none of us will survive."
He glanced at John while speaking.
If even he couldn't handle the Shadow Clan powerhouses, then his Gods, as well as the Angel Race and Orc warriors under his command, were doomed.
"Godslayer, do you have a plan?" Cand-Dragon and the others turned to John, seeking his help.
John nodded and said, "I need to find the Hunters' queen they've soul-shared with."
"That's not possible," Heidern said, shaking his head. "I've already investigated. The Shadow Clan has taken control of the Ancient Battlefield Ruins, and all of the soul-bound queens are deep within the ruins, guarded by two mid-tier shadow Clan gods."
"Two mid-tier Shadow Clan gods?" John frowned. He knew firsthand how dangerous the Shadow Clan could be. The last time he encountered a lower-tier god from the Shadow Clan, he had barely escaped with his life.
If he couldn't kill the Hunters' queens that were life-sharing with them, he wouldn't stand a chance against the Shadow Clan's elites.
With two mid-tier Shadow Clan gods standing guard, sneaking in to kill the queens would be nearly impossible.
But perhaps... he could use his disguise talent to launch a surprise attack!
He thought of the God-tier Disguise ability he had just acquired. If he disguised himself as a Hunter, they would never notice.
Moreover, the Ancient Battlefield Ruins had an overwhelming number of Hunters. It was impossible for the Shadow Clan to inspect each one individually.
Seeing that John hadn't spoken for a while, Heidern pressed again, "Godslayer, I suspect the Shadow Clan will soon arrive here in Death Land. We should hide for now."
Elsa frowned and said, "But with the Divine Path open, all Secret Areas across Skyline Continent are exposed. Where can we hide?"
Tony quickly responded, "I know a place-the Abyss of the demon race!"
Everyone's eyes lit up. The Abyss wasn't part of Skyline Continent, and the Shadow Clan couldn't enter it.
Furthermore, John had already obtained the key to the Abyss, refining it, which meant he could enter and leave at will.
All eyes turned to John.
John nodded. "Alright, we'll head to the Abyss. Once the treasure appears, we'll return."
With a wave of his hand, John opened a passageway to the Abyss.
Heidern, eager to flee, immediately led his upper-tier gods into the passage.
Cand-Dragon quickly added, "Tony, inform the Beast Clan upper-tier gods to come here. All creatures below the upper-tier should disperse."
"Understood!" Tony replied and vanished.
John, still worried, asked, "Do you think the Shadow Clan will attack human players?" His concern for Ritchie and the others was evident; their strength was too weak to adapt to the
Abyss.
Nine-Tails reassured him, "Don't worry, master. They only target upper-tier gods. Human players are essential for opening the Earth's gateway, so they won't slaughter them. Even the Hunters won't dare harm the human players."
"Good to hear." John felt a bit relieved but, to be safe, he instructed the Blues Family and all the elves who had descended on Skyline Continent to enter the Abyss as well.
He then moved the Tree of Life, Elven Spring, Dark Sea, and Vein of the Earth into the Abyss, ensuring everything of value was relocated.
Since both Death Land and the Abyss had been refined by John, he could control them as he pleased.
He also sensed that Beelzebub and other demon race members had entered the Abyss, but he wasn't concerned about them.
"Cand-Dragon," John pulled Cand-Dragon aside and said, "I'll send my Beast Clan avatar with you. If Heidern or Beelzebub tries anything, you and my avatar can handle it together."
Cand-Dragon blinked in surprise and asked, "Aren't you coming with us?"
John shook his head, lowering his voice, "I'm planning to head to the Ancient Battlefield
Ruins and deal with the Hunters' queens there."
He knew that as long as the Hunters' queens existed, the soul-sharing between them and the Shadow Clan would make the Shadow Clan gods invincible.
He had to eliminate the queens first.
"You're insane!" Cand-Dragon said in alarm, reminding him, "There are two shadow
Clan mid-tier gods guarding that place."
"Don't worry, I've got this. Just make sure you don't expose the secret of my avatar," John
instructed, as his Beast Clan avatar appeared. Then, his true body left Death Land, vanishing
from sight.
"Ah!" Cand-Dragon sighed, deeply worried.
"Relax, I won't die," suddenly, John's Beast Clan avatar spoke, startling him.
"What the-You can talk?" Cand-Dragon stared at the avatar, clearly astonished.
"Of course, I can. There's no difference between me and the true body," John replied, annoyed. His Beast Clan avatar was just as real, with flesh, blood, and a soul, no different from
any living being.
"Well, that's amazing," Cand-Dragon muttered in disbelief, studying the avatar with curiosity. "Godslayer, be honest. Are you really from the Beast Clan?"
The Beast Clan avatar gave him an exasperated look, frowning. "Hurry up and enter the Abyss.
A large number of Shadow Clan forces are on their way!"
Meanwhile, John's true body had transformed into a demigod Hunter, blending in perfectly with the surrounding Hunters, none of which noticed anything strange.
In the distance, ominous auras filled the air-death, slaughter, bloodlust-it was the Shadow Clan. Over a hundred of their powerful warriors were speeding toward the Void Area.
Unable to pinpoint the exact location of Death Land, they were following the trace of Heidern and his people, hoping to enter through the entrance to Death Land.
Back in Death Land, the strong forces of the Beast Clan had already arrived. Cand-Dragon wasted no time, leading everyone through the space rift into the Abyss.
John, sensing their departure, immediately closed the passage to the Abyss.
Just as the portal sealed, the large group of Shadow Clan elites arrived. "Damn it, they got away!" one of them growled, glaring at the now-closed spatial rift.
"It seems they've entered the Abyss of the demon race."
"What do we do, my lord? Should we continue wiping out the other races' strongholds?" one
of the warriors asked their leader, an upper-tier gods peak-level warrior.
The leader smirked coldly. "No need. Let's head to the Sea Clan."
In an instant, the Shadow Clan warriors vanished, heading toward the vast oceans at the edge
of Skyline Continent.
...
At that moment, John, still disguised as a Hunter, had successfully infiltrated the Ancient
Battlefield Ruins.
Activating Soul Perception, John scanned the area.
"Ten Hunter queens!" he frowned deeply.
Heidern's intel had been incorrect. It wasn't two Shadow Clan mid-tier gods, but five.
And those ten Hunter queens were clustered together, with the five Shadow Clan gods
guarding them closely.
John realized the situation was more difficult than he had anticipated.
The Hunter queens had massive health pools, reaching trillions. There was no way he could silently eliminate them without alerting the guards.
If even one of those five Shadow Clan mid-tier gods sensed him, he would surely meet his
end.
"Let's get closer first," John thought, still disguised as a Hunter. On the surface, he appeared to be wandering aimlessly through the Ancient Battlefield Ruins, but in reality, he was methodically inching toward the ten Hunter queens.
The area was packed with Hunters, forming a dense crowd, most of them demigod-level. None of the Hunters paid any attention to John's sudden appearance.
Soon, he reached the deeper parts of the Ancient Battlefield Ruins and saw the ten colossal
Hunter queens.
Each one took up thousands of meters, surrounded by clusters of Hunter eggs, making it impossible for John to get any closer without attracting attention. Nearby, five Shadow Clan warriors sat cross-legged, casually chatting.
"I wonder how things are going on the lord's side?" one of them asked out of boredom.
"Probably better than us. There are so many gods on this Skyline Continent, but we can't slaughter any of them," another grumbled, glancing around at the surrounding Hunters. His gaze briefly swept over John, disguised as a Hunter, but he detected nothing unusual. "Quit complaining. Our task is more critical. That Godslayer has the means to kill Hunter queens. If anything happens to them, and the lords hold us responsible, we're as good as dead," a bald-headed warrior warned, closing his eyes to rest. "Yeah, yeah, I know that," the other warrior muttered, dropping the subject.
John listened intently to their conversation, frowning as he eyed the Hunter queens in the
distance.
"I'll give it a try. There are so many Hunters here that I shouldn't be noticed," he decided, blending deeper into the swarm of Hunters and preparing to attack the queens.
Buzz!
With a soft hum, his Immortal Sword emerged from within him, its sword aura vibrating as a powerful pressure spread through the air.