Chapter 440 Scorching Rain
Chapter 440 Scorching Rain
Ashton had a contingency plan ready in case the formations collapsed. With the second wall destroyed and his skeletons rendered useless, it was time to implement the solo contingency plan.
Although it meant he would have to fight the beasts alone, it was the best chance he would get at subduing the creatures. After all, most of his skills were structured to fend off hordes.
[Skill: Blood Mist is in effect.]
Since [Heaven's Downfall] wasn't enough to kill every beast, Ashton decided to take things up a notch and activate another AOE 1 skill.
But unlike [Heaven's Downfall], the targets didn't need to step into an area. Instead, [Blood Mist] travelled to the targets. In other words, there was no way for the beasts to run away from the fog.
Not to mention, Ashton could manipulate the winds using [Wind Manipulation] for faster propagation of the poisonous mist in the direction of the beasts. This concluded Ashton's contingency plan.
However, not everything goes according to plan, for better or worse, and Ashton would learn that shortly.
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Skill: Blood Mist is evolving to skill: Blood Rain.
Active Skill: Heaven's Downfall is combining with Blood Rain.
Passive Skill: Draconic Physique is combining with Blood Rain.
New Epic Skill: Scorching Rain (Lvl 1) has been created. (You can view the details of the skill in the Skills tab.)
Note: The user can still use the skills mentioned above separately as well as in the combined form.
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'What the hell?'
Ashton did not plan for this to happen. All he wanted to do was to simultaneously use [Heaven's Downfall] and [Blood Mist] to deal as much damage as he could to the beasts. Instead, he ended up creating a new skill!
Blood Mist turned into crimson clouds dancing in the night sky, and the next moment, something unimaginable happened. Ashton couldn't comprehend what was happening, but a mixture of fiery poison rained down on the beasts.
[Interesting.]
'You knew this would happen?'
[I had my doubts. But nothing is predictable regarding skill combination, thanks to various RNGs. 2]
'Rn-what?'
[Don't burden your feeble mind with unnecessary things. Focus on the battle.]
The emerald green raindrops burned everything they touched. Those fortunate enough died as the raindrops drilled through their body and melted essential organs.
But The unlucky ones had to suffer the torment of the sickening poison that rapidly spread through their bodies. However, that wasn't all. As much as the rain harmed the beasts, it reinforced Ashton's genes and abilities along with his skeleton soldiers.
The cornered beasts again resorted to using the same skill they did to destroy the second wall. Thousands of spikes covered the skies before zooming in on Ashton.
The onlookers gasped in horror. All of them had witnessed the destructive force of the spikes and knew the chances of Ashton's survival were low if not nil.
While most mercenaries were worried about Ashton's well-being, the Gold Water Mercenaries could not help but smile internally. It was no secret they loathed Ashton, and that's why his death was more than a welcome surprise.
Gold Water mercs were so sure of Ashton's defeat that they almost left their posts to escape the horde. One can imagine the shock on their faces when Ashton was ungrazed by the destructive attack.
"It'd take a lot more than that to kill me." Ashton smiled as Bone goliath deflected all of the spikes headed his way.
***
"How is that even possible?" Kern mumbled in frustration, "That bastard is resilient like Cochega!"
"Cochega? Some would think you were hoping for Reaper's death." Laihud appeared behind the GW mercs like a ghost.
Unlike his faults, Kern was a seasoned actor. Without fumbling, he recollected himself and faced Laihud with a smile. Only then did he realise that Laihud wasn't the only one behind him, but the rest of Ashton's faction was as well.
"No, no, I was complimenting his resilience!" He said, "My sincerest apologies if it came off as me wishing ill upon Mr Reaper."
"Cochega? What's that?" Anna asked Ricochet.
"Think of it as a space cockroach."
Anna's eyes were red as soon as she heard that. Was this worm comparing Ashton to a cockroach? He was courting death! 3
Thankfully, Laihud was there to keep her in check. As much as Liahud despised the Gold Water mercenaries, he knew nothing good would come from needlessly fighting them.
"You should expand your vocabulary to find a better analogy." Laihud said with a smile, "Or else you'll end up in deep trouble one of these days."
"Haha, yes, yes." Kern gave them a fake smile, "So what are you doing here? I thought we weren't supposed to leave our assigned spots."
"Does it look like everything's going according to plan?" Anna snarkily commented, "The beasts are not getting past Reaper, and if they did, nothing would be able to stop them. Not you, at least."
Anna's remark made a vein pop out of Kern's forehead, but his smile was as radiant as ever. Kern was an A-grade being, yet a mere C-grader was spouting shit about him?
Had it not been for Mazton, he would have made Reaper and his little lover into his bitches without hesitation. Sadly, he could only imagine how he would torture them to death but keep his hands stuck to his sides for now.
However, someone radioed in on their conversation before he gave in to his anger.
"Unless y'all are a bunch of professional wall climbers, boarding a ship would be the quickest way to reach Reaper," Kass's voice echoed through the secure channel, "Hop in, and I'll take you as further as I can without injuring the baby."
"The baby?" Vimur voiced his confusion.
"She means the ship." Laihud replied, "Come on, let's get going."
***
Author's note:
1. AOE skill: Area of effect skill. In simple terms, skills/abilities that affect multiple targets in an area.
2. RNG: RNGs, or Random Number Generators, are a way to introduce a touch of randomness and causality in games. (Credit: Google)
3. Courting Death: It references Chinese novels' most beloved and cringeworthy phrase. You can now die of cringe, as I did while typing it.