…

Bang!

The Grand Centipedeus slammed on the ground sending shockwaves that spread forward, covering a fan-shaped area.

Shin was about to dodge when he noticed that the area around him was suddenly filled with earth spikes. They surrounded him from every direction, preventing him from going anywhere. He naturally could fly in the sky, but he could sense that it was a trap, so he chose to hold his ground and remain in his position.

He then took his stance while channeling the Power of Primordial Eclipse into his sword before unsheathing it.

Shing!

Right after he swung forward, a raging energy was suddenly released, which suddenly formed into a massive dragon.

Roar!

‘Jade Kirin Scripture: Quick Draw – Eclipse Dragon Draw’

The dragon was about to fly straight to the incoming shockwave when Shin suddenly tweaked its course by slightly turning his wrist and twirling the Yamato.

The dragon made of the Power of Primordial Eclipse, suddenly moved in spiral motion as it headed toward the incoming shockwave. It left a blazing trail behind in black and white shade, which turned into a raging storm right after the collision.

Boom!

Swoosh!

Amid the explosion and the cloud of dust and dirt, the Grand Centipedeus suddenly broke through and lunged itself at Shin while opening its massive jaws. The pincers that it had on each side of its mouth also opened wide while revealing its razor-sharp teeth.

Shin remained calm despite the charging centipede. He took a stance and held the sword with both of his hands as he pulled it back, raising it over his shoulders.

He then channeled his powers into it once again and forcefully contained them.

As he took that stance, someone suddenly jumped over the earth spikes behind. It was Leonard, who currently had his entire body covered with Primal Powers of an Ancient Beast.

He flew over Shin as he went straight above the giant centipede. He then suddenly shot down like a meteor, leaving a fading trail behind.

Swoosh!

He then put them together and raised them while stretching his body in an arc. When he was about to land on the head of the Grand Centipedeus, he suddenly swung his clasping hands like a hammer.

‘Supreme Blood Sutra: Death Series – Blood Hammer’

Boom!

Right when his hands landed on the head of the giant centipede, the impact that it caused forced the latter to slam into the ground, dozens of meters away from Shin. It also forcefully closed the huge mouth of the monster as it landed.

Shriek!

The Grand Centipedeus quickly picked itself up and opened its mouth once again, releasing a sharp and deafening cry. It also shook its head left and right, throwing Leonard off from its head.

Leonard quickly jumped high up in the air as he prepared for the follow-up attack.

On the ground, Shin, who was maintaining his stance, had already accumulated enough energy and was preparing to attack.

When he saw the Grand Centipedeus open its mouth for another time, he suddenly stomped strongly with his right foot while swinging the Yamato forward.

Right after he swung the sword, an energy made from the Power of Primordial Eclipse came out and flew forward.

It was a move that was derived from the in-game skill that he had, the ‘Eclipse Slash’. He used it as a model for this move as it was the closest to the ideal move that he had inside his head. It was one of the few moves under his arsenal that used the combined powers of the sun and moon, forming the power of eclipse.

Thus, this skill was a self-created sword technique that he would add to his swordsmanship.

‘Myriad Transformation Swordsmanship: Eclipse Slash’

Swoosh!

The energy wave flew straight at the mouth of the Grand Centipedeus with its sharp and pointed tip. It entered the mouth of the monster and exploded inside, making the giant centipede cry in pain.

Shriek!

(-12,402,520)

Shin finally saw the huge damage that he dealt to the Grand Centipedeus from the very first time. “So, your insides are not as strong as your tough exoskeleton, huh?”

He finally found a clue on how they were going to attack.

At the same time, he was also trying to remember how he executed the previous sword technique since he felt that it was the closest to the ideal way to wield the powers of the Primordial Eclipse properly.

With his experience with controlling the ‘Sacred Qi’ and ‘Demonic Qi’ as well as the ‘Yin-Yang Arts and Swordsmanship’ in the real world, Shin felt that he would be able to find the proper way to wield this new power that he had.

Along with his experience in combining the three innate attributes that he had, he felt that the answer was right under his nose and waiting for him to be discovered. 𝘳𝑎.𝒸ℴ

This time, he was planning to incorporate his ‘Yin-Yang Swordsmanship’ with the ‘Myriad Transformation Swordsmanship’, applying the concepts that it had to the latter.

The Grand Centipedeus was shaking its head hard with a wide open mouth as it was trying to spit the residual energy left behind by Shin’s attack.

But when it was doing that, crimson light suddenly fell from the sky and landed straight on its head.

It was Leonard, who had accumulated enough energy for this attack. He punched the head of the giant centipede, forcing it to slam into the ground for another time and closing its mouth once again.

‘Supreme Blood Sutra: Death Series – Sanguine Crush’

(-10,023,055)

Due to his actions, the Grand Centipedeus received another massive damage. But it was not because his attack landed on the head of the monster, but because the already raging residual energy inside its mouth exploded once again due to the sudden impact.

Aside from leaving a decent crack on the exoskeleton of the giant centipede, Leonard did not deal much damage. But that was more than enough, as they had already gotten the clue that they wanted.

Moreover, he also became confident that he would be able to break its exoskeleton later.

He now had an idea of how he would be using this new energy that he had. He could also use the advanced techniques of his martial arts that he usually could not do in the real world.

‘Blood Force’, the special force that his master had personally created just for him. It was an advanced ‘Natural Force’ that was different from the others. It was more like a ‘Bloodline Powers’ that the ‘Bloodline Possessors’ had from the Martial Arts and Mentalism Families with a long history.

It was a special power utilizing the ‘Bestial Qi’ used for the personal martial arts of his master and a secret method for the circulation of one’s blood.

Utilizing this concept, Leonard was now able to somewhat wield the primal powers that he currently possessed.

He might still have not awakened his innate attribute in the real world and formed this unique Natural Force, the ‘Blood Force’. But he now at least had discovered how to use it in the future once he did.

Having a general idea of what he needed to do next, Leonard felt more confident and started applying his special method to his current state.

Unknown to him, he was starting to bring forth the powers of his bloodline and the inheritance of the Thunder Lord that he recently awakened and received to the game.

In the meantime, Diablo, who was receiving the inheritance from the ‘Soundless Assassination Technique’ Martial Manual, finally digested everything.

The moment when he reopened his eyes, a new light was now present in them as he felt a new form of power inside him. He also felt that the assassination techniques that came from the manual perfectly fitted the powers that he had received from the system.

This Power of the True Shadows that came from the Shadow Queen was not only perfect for assassination, but it also possessed some other applications such as shadow magic, particularly the ‘Shadow Manipulation’ and ‘Weapon Manifestation’.

As someone, who did not have any kind of background regarding Martial Arts, Mentalism, and Assassination in the real world, Diablo was more like a blank slate that could absorb anything the manual had granted him.

The experiences and the inspirations that the previous masters of the ‘Soundless Assassination Technique’ had become his within a short amount of time.

Adding the effects of the Hyperactive Immersion, this state that he was currently in was enhanced, which gave him the illusion that those experiences and inspiration were his to begin with.

He could not wait to test them out in the battle and familiarize himself with them. Having these techniques inside his head was one thing but applying them in battle was a whole different matter.

If he wanted to master them, he had to constantly train himself and make them his own.

Closing his eyes, he suddenly recalled the techniques recovered in the martial manual before making his move.

He hopped to the side before entering stealth. But this time, his stealth seemed to have reached another level as it hid his presence along with the sound of his footsteps.

…

The Grand Centipedeus was already going crazy due to the damage that it received. Even though barely able to move its overwhelming health bar, it seemed to be acting a little strange.

It moved its body like a wave, slamming it everywhere, creating chaos everywhere. It seemed to be doing things randomly, but Shin and Leonard could tell that it was not the chase. The two could tell that was trying to do something, making the pair to be a little cautious in their attacks.

A few moments later, the huge and long body of the Grand Centipedeus was suddenly hidden by a thick cloud of dust.

Shin was not sure what the giant centipede was trying to do, but when he saw what was happening, he realized how cunning this Demon of the Bug Tribe was.

He was not expecting that this monster would be able to think such a move to prevent them from constantly targeting its head, particularly its mouth.

Realizing that this was not going to work, Shin and Leonard quickly retreated and got away from the range of the cloud of dust.

They were trying to lure the Grand Centipedeus out before resuming the battle. But right after they broke through the cloud of dust, they suddenly sensed the vibration of the earth underneath their feet.

They quickly got away from their respective positions, running away from it as soon as possible.

In Shin’s previous spot, massive earth spikes, resembling tall pillars, suddenly shot from the ground. They continued to appear one after another, seemingly chasing after Shin.

Seeing how fast they grew, Shin realized that he could not outrun them, especially when he saw that more stone spikes appeared in another area, seemingly trying to trap him.

Shin executed a series of movement techniques, dodging each of the stone pillars while also swinging the Yamato cut the ones that he was unable to avoid.

On the other side, Leonard was caught a little off guard when he saw the huge head of the Grand Centipedeus coming out from the ground and charging straight at him.

Seeing that he was still in midair and unable to do anything, Leonard threw his fist in the air beneath him, creating a strong aftershock that propelled him away from the course of a giant centipede.

Bang!

Barely able to save himself, Leonard suddenly took a horse stance while circulating both his blood and energy at the same time.

At the same time, Lycan’s apparition appeared behind him, boosting his speed.

He then started executing his foot technique and running in random directions as the Grand Centipedeus constantly came out from the ground, chasing after him.

While running, he suddenly saw shadow brushed past him and headed straight to the centipede. When he looked over his shoulder to see what it was, he saw a pair of shadow daggers hitting the chin of the giant centipede.

They did not deal any kind of damage to the monster, but something strange happened. The Grand Centipedeus suddenly stopped moving like a statue.

Leonard quickly halted when he saw that to have a clearer look. It was at that moment that he noticed that the pair of daggers stuck in the chin of the centipede seemed to connect with its massive shadow underneath.

He did not know what exactly it was, but he could already guess what happened.

“Interesting,” mumbled Leonard as he guessed that Diablo must have discovered how to use his new powers and gained a decent understanding of it.

Snap!

He then saw Grand Centipedeus snap the shadow daggers pinning its shadow in place and preventing it from moving. It regained its movements and quickly scanned its surroundings.

Unfortunately, Diablo was still hiding under his stealth, making the giant centipede unable to find or sense his presence.

After failing to find its target, it returned its attention to Leonard, who was currently standing a few meters away from it and gesturing in a provoking manner.

“Let’s see how you will play this tag,” he smirked, provoking the giant centipede even more.

…

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