NOVEL NEXT Chapter 205: Blades, Blood And Hunger
Chapter 205: Blades, Blood And Hunger
Alister's body surged with mana, his muscles rippling under his black-and-white scales.
The energy around him pulsed, sending waves of golden mana into the air as his dragon form flexed with every movement.
His eyes were locked onto Lysandra, the Blade Dancer Zombie, her red and blue glowing eyes fixed on him.
[Notice! You are in a weakened state due to hunger.]
Alister swung his claws to counter, but she moved like a blur, vanishing from his sight for a second before reappearing at his flank. His claws merely slashed through an afterimage.
He barely had time to react as her sword cut through the air. The blade sliced across his side, sparks flying as it met his scales.
The impact of the strike sent a jolt of pain through his body, but while his thick dragon hide was sliced through, the cut wasn't deep.
'What!?'
Alister's eyes widened in shock, then instantly narrowed, wanting to see the sword's status window.
Name: Tainted Animantium Blade
Type: Weapon (Sword)
Weapon Rank: S
In that instant, Alister's tail whipped around, moving like a massive whip, aiming to cleave Lysandra in half. She ducked, narrowly avoiding the blow, but the force of the tail's strike sent a shockwave ripping through the air, splintering the ground beneath them.
Debris and dust erupted, but Lysandra used it as cover, disappearing into the cloud.
Alister snarled, flames flickering at the corners of his maw, his eyes scanning for her. From behind, he heard the whistle of an arrow slicing through the air. It hit his scales harmlessly and fell to the ground.
Ethan, the archer zombie, had perched himself on a half-destroyed building, launching a barrage of poisoned arrows. He managed to hit the same spot on Alister's scales multiple times, causing a crack before one finally broke through, embedding itself in his flesh.
[Notice! You have been poisoned!]
[Your movements further been slowed.]
Alister twisted his body with a grunt and refocused on Ethan. With a wave of his hand, a massive boulder elevated off the earth, and he hurled it toward the archer.
The rock soared through the air, a giant mass of earth and rubble. Yet, as it neared its target, Lysandra appeared from the shadows once more, her sword glowing with red mana as she slashed through the boulder effortlessly, turning it to dust in midair.
'This hunger isn't letting me think straight...'
Alister coughed up some purple blood, his eyes refocusing on the monsters.
'I'm going to have to eat something... Anything...'
Before Alister could react, the ground trembled beneath him. Brutus, the hulking Juggernaut Zombie, charged in with his hammer raised high. The brute's eyes were ablaze with fury, and every step sent tremors through the ruins.
Alister could feel the weight of the juggernaut's charge as the massive weapon descended.
Brutus's hammer crashed down, but Alister sidestepped calmly, narrowly avoiding the devastating blow that left a crater where he had stood.
The force of the impact sent shockwaves rippling out, causing nearby buildings to tremble and collapse.
Brutus was about to lift his hammer to attack again, but then a scaled arm reached out and grabbed one of his.
The zombie turned to see Alister's clawed arm dig into his flesh. Alister then spoke in a cold tone, "I'm sorry but..."
"I'm going to have to borrow this."
In that instant, with a sudden pull, Alister ripped the arm from the zombie's shoulder, causing the other two to look in shock. Before Brutus could respond, Alister lifted his left leg and, tilting his body to the side slightly, he threw a kick to the zombie's abdomen, sending him flying with his hammer still clutched in his right arm.
BOOM!
He was sent hurling through the air like a ragdoll, crashing into a ruined building. The shockwave caused the structure to cave in on itself, spikes suddenly emerging further to impale the zombie.
But Alister knew it wasn't dead since he didn't get a notification. He then turned his head toward Ethan and Lysandra, a cold look in his eyes.
They both watched as Alister opened his maw, proceeding to bite into the massive arm. The flesh easily gave way as his teeth tore through it, ripping chunks off and chewing. The monsters simply watched in shock as Alister did this several more times before finally discarding the mangled arm with some of its bones exposed.
[You have devoured an undead monster!]
[You have obtained some resistance to poisons due to consuming rotten flesh.]
[Draconic Hunger activated!]
[You have gained a fragment of: Strength Enhancement (Talent).]
[Your hunger has been slightly satiated.]
For a while, Alister simply stood there, then flexed his arms a bit before proceeding to clean his mouth, the black blood smearing across his white-scaled dragon face.
He then spoke, "That tasted a lot worse than I expected..." He gazed at the other monsters, who seemed frozen in place.
They were supposed to not be able to feel any emotions since they were all technically dead, but one could tell from their reluctance, and the fact some of them took a step back, that their actions were definitely being influenced by...
FEAR.
Meanwhile, the spikes pierced through the juggernaut's rotting flesh, black blood spewing from the wounds. But Brutus let out a thunderous roar and rose from the rubble, lifting his hammer with his one remaining arm as he charged, swinging it once more. The hammer arced down while Alister's back was turned.
Brutus thought this was an opening.
But as the hammer neared its target, time seemed to slow down as Alister turned to lock eyes with him, sending a chill down the monster's spine. With a swift, powerful motion, Alister spun around, his fist clenched tight, golden lightning crackling around it.
His punch connected with Brutus's hammer in a deafening clash of energy. The impact was so intense that a shockwave exploded from the collision, sending destructive ripples through the
surrounding ruins.
Brutus's hammer didn't stand a chance. It shattered under the force of Alister's punch, shards of metal and energy scattering through the air. The brute staggered back, momentarily disoriented by the sheer force of the blow.
But with Alister's focus elsewhere, Lysandra seized the moment, darting toward him with terrifying speed. Her sword glowed a bright red as she aimed for his head, intending to
decapitate him in one swift motion.
"Getting bold now, are we?"
Alister sensed her approach at the last instant. As the blade came flying toward his neck, his
head whipped around, and with a snarl, his maw opened.
He caught the blade between his razor-sharp teeth, the force of the attack barely phasing him. The sword shattered instantly, shards of Animantium and vine flying through the air. The female zombie'e eyes widened in shock as Alister chewed and swallowed the broken pieces of her weapon. His golden eyes burned with fury as flames licked the edges of his maw.
[You have devoured a piece of Animantium!]
[Draconic Hunger activated!]
[The density of your scales has been enhanced slightly.]
[Your hunger has been slightly satiated.]
"Well that's a suprise... Turns out Animantium tastes way better than rotten flash." Alister
said, his voice vibrating with raw power.