Chapter 303

Chapter 89 Unexpected Developments

Before that, we had to eat.

The abyssal muck flowed rapidly around my body. These liquids that tightly enveloped me surged with force, pouring into my body in a frenzy. Astonishing heat was building up and expanding inside me, as chaotic power coursed through my blood vessels, spreading throughout my body. I could hear a sound like liquid being rapidly evaporated by high heat.

Let’s consume a little bit first…

Just a little bit… Let’s see how things go…

It was the little girl who reminded me.

She told me that these “muds” would listen to her. Perhaps at that time, she was just panicking while being in the abyssal muck; she didn’t dare leave this place, so inadvertently or perhaps by chance, she instinctively exerted her own power, just like I did back then when I first awakened.

When I first awakened, I left the abyssal muck, knowing nothing about anything, and once I went outside, I was passively cut off from the “supply” of the muck, that feeling of something seeping into my body. Therefore, the first power I exerted was “dead smoke,” which originated from the chaotic power within my body, the power I had “stored”… but the little girl was different.

She had long since awakened but did not have any intention to leave. She was afraid of people outside, so she always hid in the abyssal muck. When she was still within the muck, the power she exerted did not consume chaotic power from within her body, but rather from the “outside” abyssal muck… no, perhaps we should say it differently.

When the abyss stayed in the abyssal muck, all the abyssal muck in the entire chasm was the body of the abyss.

That must be right.

What the little girl of the abyss said, the abyssal muck that melted away in her mouth, even here I don’t need to breathe at all… All these signs suggest that the abyssal muck should be the “nutrient solution” for hatching the abyss… I think my understanding shouldn’t be wrong. These substances and my body are “fundamental” existences, like the yolk and egg white in an egg, which will eventually turn into a chick… it’s roughly the same principle.

Perhaps the familiar aura I felt at first was the lingering aura of the abyssal muck. Although I still don’t understand why I have that strange feeling of being “superior,” but when I was wrapped in the abyssal muck, chaotic power continuously flowed into my body, enhancing my strength, even though it was no longer boiling.

At this moment, I am already one with the abyssal muck. I am slowly absorbing it, and perhaps I can control it.

Since that’s the case… why not try to speed up the absorption?

The enemy outside is very powerful.

Aside from countless church knights, those robed sages gave me a feeling… although they were far less powerful than the old man who teamed up with Carlos to kill me initially, their miracles seemed to be able to “stack.” The feathers released by those people could completely deprive me of my sight and senses, then unleash a fatal attack.

I don’t know how to deal with that.

An ice wall feels impossible to hold, and running might not be enough either. The range of miracles is too large, I don’t know where the boundary is… the best method is to catch them off guard, first scatter them, maybe even take the opportunity to eat one or two, making them fear me… if possible, escape. If not, make them only focus on self-preservation, unable to launch organized counterattacks. In short, I must not let those people gather together.

It sounds simple, but it seems quite difficult… moreover, the most troublesome thing is the fat man in purple clothes…

That cardinal named Nero.

He is too powerful, powerful enough to make me feel a bit panicked.

Whether human or abyss, he should be the strongest person I’ve encountered so far. I never imagined a human could be so powerful. Although it was a sneak attack and he tricked me with a sphere, severely impeding my movements… but after I gradually became familiar with my own power and experienced several fierce battles, it was the first time I encountered such a situation where I had no resistance, being defeated in an instant…

Thinking about what happened before, anger surged layer upon layer to my mind. Hatred made my teeth chatter, I could feel my hands trembling slightly. Emotions were suppressed in my chest, my heart was tight, as if pinched, unable to release.

Damn Mother Li…

I haven’t done anything bad… why do you treat me like this…

Why…

I almost got killed… If I weren’t an abyss… no, that’s not right… with the recovery ability of the abyss, a fatal wound wouldn’t work.

If the abyss could recover from such fatal injuries instantly, then humans would have no hope of winning at all, it would be impossible to defeat them. But in fact, according to records so far, although humans have paid heavy prices almost every time, they have indeed been winning… I think, it’s probably because no abyss has been able to do what I have done, even if they fell into the abyssal muck, because I was already “dead” at that time.

And the reason I survived is perhaps… because I devoured the monster Teresa.

Most likely.

Otherwise, I might really have died…

Thinking about this, an emotion called fear and regret quietly spread in my heart.

That cardinal Nero, I’m a bit afraid of him…

So I must eat him first!

But I really don’t have confidence in defeating him, I’m uncertain.

Although my injuries have healed, I still don’t know how strong the enemy is, what the limit is. All I can do is find ways to make myself stronger… I tried using the sensation of controlling dead smoke and black flames, attempting to accelerate the “nurturing” of the abyssal muck.

I succeeded…

Right now, I am like a bottomless black hole, greedily devouring the abyssal muck, absorbing everything, chaotic power is surging into my body.

I don’t know the consequences of doing this, but for now… I don’t want to consider too much.

My life almost ended…

Anyway, there are no civilians here, let’s indulge a little… eat a bit more… it’s fine… otherwise, how can I defeat a strong enemy…

I still need to return to the capital city, save people… Only by eating a bit more can I increase my chances of winning… there’s no other way, this is the last time…

As long as I eat that cardinal, I won’t use this power again… but now…

Anyway, the knights outside had seen everything…

In my mind, the middle-aged face that seemed to admire me flashed by. I remembered his struggling appearance.

But perhaps…

He had long known that someone wanted to kill me.

They all wanted to harm me…

…………

Laberil Great Canyon.

Under the hazy moonlight, within the huge chasm spanning across the canyon and the long river, the terrifying black mud that had long been calm suddenly bubbled up. One, two… bubbles emerged from the mud surface and quickly burst, followed by more… in just an instant, the abyssal mud boiled again.

Gurgle gurgle gurgle…

Deep in the chasm, a petite girl slowly stretched her body in the mud, contentedly squinting her eyes.

So comfortable…

Haha.

Truly… a long-awaited feeling of fullness…

My body was filled with strength.

I could clearly feel the intense flow of the abyssal mud. The cold, viscous liquid tightly adhered to my bare skin, swirling like a deep-sea vortex, integrating into my body. It felt like controlling chaotic power; these abyssal muds seemed to become part of my body under the guidance of my will, or were in the process of becoming part of my body.

…The little girl said she could turn the abyssal mud into small animals.

Then what about me? What can I do…

Let’s try it.

I closed my eyes.

Calm down…

Silently feel them, then command them… Ah! Wait!

I’m not wearing any clothes! My black dress and undergarments have all been eroded… Then how am I going to get out?!

Damn it!

I don’t want to fight with my butt exposed; it feels too terrible…

Suddenly, the influx of abyssal mud stopped.

…Hmm?

While I was puzzled, the cold liquid started flowing and swirling around my body again. In an instant, I felt the abyssal mud rapidly condensing and compressing on my chest, back, waist, abdomen, arms, legs, and head… the density increased, and the sensation gradually changed from smooth to hard.

Although hard, it didn’t cause any discomfort.

Wait…

Could this be…

I raised my hand to touch my chest. The sensation was cool, and the surface of the abyssal mud felt like sandpaper, hard as stone, enveloping me like an invincible armor.

It seems like I’m completely wrapped up…

Could it be that the abyssal mud really did what I wanted? So convenient?

To confirm this, I reached for my buttocks to see if they were properly covered, but when I extended my hand to the right side of my hips, it was blocked by the same hard-textured abyssal mud… Hmm?

Hmmmm…

Is this… Is this a dress?

Armor skirt?!

It seems like… I really turned the abyssal mud into clothes…

It must be me, right?

Ah…

The abyssal mud wrapped around my fingers and toes, making it feel like only my face was exposed…

The black liquid continued to boil.

In the next moment, a force lifted me from below, and I felt my body starting to rise slowly.

I’m going out…

Instinctively, I reached for my back, but suddenly realized that Captain Gray wasn’t beside me. Only then did I vaguely remember that when I was struck by the Holy Lance, the strap of the suitcase broke off and fell somewhere unknown…

Forget it, gather your spirit.

The force lifting me became faster, and soon almost my entire body was thrown upward… This feeling was very similar to my first time coming out of the abyss, but I wouldn’t panic anymore.

The abyssal mud boiled again, but why didn’t I hear anything outside…

Never mind, get out of the abyssal mud and fly as high as possible… I need to look carefully. If there’s a chance, I’ll fight with all my might, crossing the sin barrier at the fastest speed to catch them off guard. But if that cardinal has set up a dangerous trap, I’ll escape first and find another opportunity to eat later…

Suddenly, I felt a lightness throughout my body.

Blinding light made it difficult for me to open my eyes.

I’m out!

“Huff—”

I immediately took a deep breath, inhaling the rich fragrance of grass and wood, the natural scent intoxicating me, making me unable to hold back the urge to sniff and take several quick breaths.

Breathing feels so good…

My eyes still couldn’t adapt to the brightness, preventing me from checking the surroundings… Never mind, quickly fly up!

Boom!

A black flame with a white glow burned fiercely on the girl’s still airborne body. The fireball paused above the chasm for half a second before trailing off, shooting straight up like a cannon.

The wind noise was weak, and the black flames intercepted all uncomfortable resistances.

Thirty meters, fifty meters… hundred meters… After flying a certain distance, I felt my eyes adapting to the brightness, and the blue sky and white clouds gradually became clear in my vision.

I slowed down the ascent, turning my body halfway in the air, manipulating the flames to make a sharp turn, and began horizontal flight while scanning the ground quickly.

The continuous valleys dotted with green and red came into view. I quickly found those white tents scattered among the valleys. From above, the tents looked like tiny bumps, standing out prominently between the green and red. But strangely, I didn’t sense anyone’s presence.

Is it too quiet… Wait!

Where is the sin barrier?!

In the majestic valley below, the golden sin barrier that once surrounded the huge chasm had vanished.

No… something’s wrong…

I elevated my perception to the highest level, fully focused, maintaining high-speed movement in the air to prevent sudden attacks from holy lances, while widening my eyes to carefully search for clues in the valley below.

What’s going on… Is it a trap?

Not quite…

Or… Did they really think I was dead? That there would be no more abyss here, so they all left?

…That’s also unlikely. At least the abyssal mud hasn’t been dealt with yet… Hmm?

What’s that…

Suddenly, I saw a figure in silver armor through the trees below…

Ah, that’s half a corpse.