Chapter 76: The Blood Moon Grandmasters
Nova focused on the two powerful auras. They felt different from Enzo and Ragnar’s , weaker, but there was no doubt about it. Whoever they were, both of them were definitely Grandmasters.
Somewhere in the central area of Frostholme, two men in long black robes with hoods covering their faces stood in a narrow alley between two small buildings.
"Hey Jonny, what the hell happened here? How is the city still standing? The plan completely failed," one of them asked.
"You fucker... call me by my code number! What if Lord 110 hears you?" the other snapped.
"But how would he know? He isn’t even here."
"You shithead! You don’t understand... those with three digits and above are all monsters. You have no idea what they’re capable of."
Their leader gave them this mission to find out why the plan failed. It was unusual — this was the only recent failure in the kingdom, especially since there weren’t any particularly powerful warriors here. Not even a single Grandmaster.
Both men fell silent, pondering, when a deep, heavy voice suddenly echoed around them.
"The reason would be me."
"W-What? Who was that?!"
Both men instantly became alert. They were Grandmasters, yet they hadn’t sensed anyone approaching. That could only mean one thing — the person was either stronger than them....or extremely skilled at hiding their aura.
Both men looked up and froze. There he stood — Nova, fully disguised as the Slaughter Monarch. He wore long black robes that blended the look of a flowing high collar coat and traditional eastern robes,paired with matching black pants.
Purple patterns adorned the fabric in several places. A horrific black human face mask covered his face , as it’s eyes glowed purple, giving him a terrifying, otherworldly presence.
Nova could clearly sense demonic energy leaking from them, confirming they were members of the Blood Moon Cult despite being human.
He quickly appraised their levels: one was Level 520, the other 530. Their stats were similar to his own, so he could handle them without too much trouble. However, fighting them here would risk destroying half the city.
Nova instantly activated Reality Override, trapping both cultists inside a powerful illusion where they believed they had already begun chasing and fighting him across the city.
The cultists were completely caught off guard by the sudden illusion attack. Taking advantage of their distraction, Nova used Voidborne Telekinesis to seize their bodies, then activated Skystride and shot into the sky at full speed.
With his newly boosted Agility stats, enhanced by bursts of lightning, he was moving so fast, his figure became little more than a blur completely invisible to the citizens below.
Using two S-rank skills at the same time was somewhat taxing, but thanks to Vitality Core and Instinct Dominion, he could manage the quick mana drain and maintain mental clarity. His higher level also helped greatly.
In just a minute, Nova reached the woods at the southern border of Frostholme. He didn’t stop there. He carried them deeper into the dense jungle before finally throwing their bodies onto the ground with full force.
The impact of Nova’s throw was so overwhelming that the moment the two cultists were hurled deep into the forest and crashed into the ground, countless trees in the surrounding area were uprooted or snapped apart by the sheer force.
The earth beneath them exploded, forming a massive crater, while the terrain for hundreds of meters cracked and collapsed under the immense impact.
The combination of the Grandmasters’ durable bodies and Nova’s monstrous strength created a shockwave powerful enough to devastate the entire area.
The impact didn’t hurt them much, they were Grandmasters, after all — but it was enough to shatter the illusion. Nova deliberately dispelled it himself. He wanted to fight proper Grandmaster Realm opponents and judge their strength.
The moment they broke free, both cultists looked deeply confused. They could have sworn they had just been beating the man they were chasing, capturing him, and torturing him for information.
But the next second, they realized they were deep inside a forest. The truth hit them instantly they had been trapped in an illusion the entire time.
When they looked up and saw Nova hovering in the sky, calmly staring down at them from under his mask, terror flooded their faces. They nearly pissed themselves.
Everyone knew what it meant when someone could fly freely in the sky:
They were at Level 1000 or above.
Nova noticed the pure terror on their faces and quickly understood the misunderstanding. He landed on the ground and spoke calmly, "Relax, fuckers. I’m not at level 1000. Not even close. Hell, I’m not even a Grandmaster yet. So come fight me if you dare."
The two cultists exchanged glances. They could sense that his aura was similar to their own — Grandmaster level — though they didn’t realize Nova was suppressing most of his power and hadn’t even used his new aura yet. Still, the fact that he could fly made them stay cautious.
One of them spoke arrogantly, "Are you the one who destroyed our Lord’s plan?"
Nova raised an eyebrow. "I don’t know about your Lord, but yeah... I definitely destroyed whatever plan you had. And I’ll keep doing it unless you manage to kill me."
"You bastard! Do you even know who we are and how powerful the force behind us is?"
Nova chuckled darkly. "Do you think I care? Now quit pissing me off and fight me... or I’ll tear you both into a million pieces."
Both men gulped, feeling Nova’s overwhelming killing intent wash over them. They had no choice. With angry roars, they attacked.
"YOU MOTHERFUCKER! YOU’LL REGRET THIS!"
Both drew their swords and lunged at him. Nova dodged their strikes with ease. Their Strength stats were in the 700s while his was in the 800s, and although their Agility was close, Nova was still noticeably faster thanks to his Lightning Steps.
After dodging several more of their attacks, Nova weaved effortlessly through the forest in every direction. Their fierce exchange devastated the surrounding terrain, shattering countless trees and leaving deep scars across the land.
Throughout the entire fight, Nova never launched a single attack; he simply continued dodging with ease. Once he had accurately judged their speed, he decided to test their strength. Coming to an abrupt stop, he stood his ground and deliberately allowed their attacks to strike his body.
Clang! Clang!
The sound of metal striking metal rang out. Both cultists’ grins of triumph instantly turned into expressions of pure horror.
"What do we have here?" Nova said mockingly. "You two are just pussies. Couldn’t even scratch me."
In the next instant, he grabbed one cultist’s head with one hand and squeezed. The man’s skull burst like a watermelon with a sickening crunch, blood and brain matter splattering across Nova’s mask and the other cultist’s face.
"JONNY!" the surviving cultist screamed in horror as his comrade’s lifeless body collapsed to the ground.
"Oops... I meant to apply only a little pressure. I didn’t know he’d die that easily," Nova muttered casually. "Oh well, no point overthinking it now."
He turned his gaze to the surviving cultist, who had collapsed onto the ground, his face twisted in pure horror. He knew he would soon meet the same fate — especially since Jonny had been the stronger of the two.
The man looked up at Nova with a trembling voice. "Y-You bastard... you lied! You are a high level Grandmaster!"
"Hahaha!" Nova let out a low, chilling chuckle. "Hmm... I didn’t lie. It’s your fault for being so weak. Now follow my commands before I pluck your head off too."
"W-What do you want?" the cultist asked, voice shaking.
"You won’t get any information out of me! It’s impossible... I’ll die automatically before I can reveal anything."
"I already know that," Nova replied coldly. "You must have a communication stone. Take it out and use it to contact your boss."
"H-How do you know about that?!" the cultist stammered.
"Do you really want to die that badly?"
Nova released a small portion of his Demonic Dominion Aura. The man’s body instantly froze in terror. A dark stain spread across his pants as he pissed himself.
"DO IT," Nova commanded, his voice cold and authoritative.
The cultist felt as if he was facing a nightmare — like the demon lords his seniors had whispered about. Nova’s small percentage of his new aura was enough to make him feel that way.
Trembling violently, the cultist reached into his robes and pulled out a yellow stone. It was exactly the same communication stone Nova had seen in the memories of the previous cultist he had killed last time.
The cultist, still trembling, poured his mana into the yellow stone. After a few seconds, a holographic figure projected from it, and a loud, enraged voice boomed out.
"What is the meaning of this, you insignificant insect?! Contacting me without my permission!"
Thanks for reading...
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