The eerie silence that followed Lassim’s overwhelming display of power that took out the entirety of the mind-controlled troop of monkeys was shattered by the Monkey King’s wail.
The sound was unlike anything Lassim had ever heard, a bone-chilling screech layered over itself, creating a dissonant echo that reverberated through the village. The Monkey King’s voice seemed to come from the merging of two creatures all at once with its eerie resonance sending shivers down Lassim’s spine.
Despite the unnerving sound, Lassim felt no real threat from his opponent. The Monkey King’s power level was at the Spirit Ascension stage, roughly Spirit Ascension 5, yet there was zero danger being felt by Lassim’s senses.
Also, something about its jerky movements and presence felt off. It was as if the creature’s body wasn’t truly its own, but rather a puppet on strings, manipulated by an unseen force.
The Monkey King lunged forward, its movements rough and slightly unnatural, aiming a wild strike at Lassim.
Lassim reined in his power, remembering Khaalseru’s warning about the risk of imbuing his divine mana into attacks, focusing on precision over raw strength.
"Zaphy, I need your support," Lassim communicated through their mental link. "Help me control and reduce the power of the lightning attack I’m about to release."
"Yay! I finally get to do something! You got it brother! Leave it to Me! Hehe." Zaphyrella’s energetic presence surged within him as he could almost feel her bird beak turn into a smile in his imagination as she finally got her wish to cause destruction.
In that moment, she used her innate abilities as a now mostly matured Thunderhawk and his elemental companion to help modulate the immense power he wielded. With her support, Lassim felt the lightning mana he was controlling and about to imbue into his halberd was being reduced a bit in strength and size, becoming more precise through his mana veins.
He shifted his halberd down from above his head, where it had been held in a pause after the release of the [Water Ring], to his hip with the halberd’s rune covered blade aiming forward. He then aimed a [Thrust] at the Monkey King’s left leg, hoping to incapacitate it without causing unnecessary destruction to it.
As he thrust his halberd forward with the tiniest speck of his own mana infused and zero charging time to the attack.
Surprise shone in Lassim’s eyes as what erupted from that tiny speck was a transformation into a massive lightning bolt jetsoning from the halberd’s tip, crackling with barely restrained divine energy.
The Monkey King dodged with surprising agility, but the sheer speed and power of the attack ensured it was still clipped by the bolt.
The effect was immediate and catastrophic. Even with Lassim using only a small fraction of his divine mana within this standard [Thrust] he’d used countless times before, the lightning bolt blew the entirety of the Monkey King’s left leg and hip to smithereens.
The force of the explosion sent shards of bone and flesh scattering, and the creature fell to the ground, convulsing violently as electricity coursed through its body. The seizure-like spasms were a horrifying sight, while the green glow in its eyes flickering wildly as if seizing as well.
The bolt of lightning had not only struck the Monkey King but had also shot through the village behind him, tearing a path of destruction. Bamboo huts were obliterated, their remains smoldering as the lightning continued its relentless trajectory.
The once dense thicket of overgrown and unmanaged bamboo that created the wall surrounding the village was now marred by a gaping hole, the edges of the village exposed to the swamp beyond.
Lassim couldn’t even see how far the bolt had traveled out through the swamp with his naked eye, but the trail of devastation was a remarkable display about his power’s reach. Khaalseru has omitted no lies with her warning about the strength of using a deity’s power in the mortal realm. If anything, her warning about entire kingdoms being annihilated was underselling its potency by a smidge.
Lassim stood amidst the wreckage, the enormity of the damage weighing on him. He had held back massively, yet the destruction was on a scale he suspected only Spirit Transcendents could achieve.
The sheer raw power at his disposal was both awe-inspiring and terrifying. This was going to be a new challenge that he was going to have to face and remind himself of constantly in the future. Yet, it was also satisfying. He felt strong. Really strong. Enough to make him feel like he grew a few inches as he straightened his posture.
He really wondered what his limit was.
Lassim quickly returned his focus to the moment and halted his cultivation rotation.
Everything had happened in just thirty seconds from the time the Monkey King commanded the attack to Lassim reacting, blowing away the monkeys with [Water Ring], securing them with the improvised icy version of [Storm’s Grasp], launching his elementally charged [Thrust], and then being awestruck by his own power.
He moved swiftly, turning behind him to directly help Cirra to her feet, his expression serious.
"Cirra, you better check the Monkey King quickly before he fully dies," Lassim urged, his voice low but urgent. "He’s still seizing, and you might be able to learn something while he’s still conscious and bleeding out."
Cirra nodded, her resolve firm and in fully researcher mode in spite of the chaos and ridiculous pressure she had been tortured under for the last half a minute.
After lifting her up with a helping hand, he then turned his attention back to the Monkey King, summoning the water from the damp ground with a wave of his hand as she approached it.
The water responded instantly to his command, forming shackles that wrapped around the Monkey King’s limbs, pinning it to the ground and stopping its excessive movements. The water then froze solid with the imprisonment helping to reduce the creature’s convulsions. Also, the blood loss from its grievous wounds further weakened its struggles as well.
The Monkey King lay there, its body still twitching but now restrained by the shackles. Blood pooled around the remnants of its shattered leg and hip, the crimson liquid soaking into the earth.
Lassim watched closely, his eyes narrowing as he assessed the situation. The creature’s double-layered screeches had quieted to a low, agonized groan, its green-glowing eyes flickering.
Cirra took a moment before acting to control a nearby bamboo stalk, manipulating her nature element to grow it into a sharp scalpel. With a quick snap, she broke it off and finished approaching the Monkey King, her expression focused and intense.
Kneeling beside the convulsing form, she began to slice carefully at several points, her hands steady and precise as her unique telescoping goggles that allowed her some sort of unique vision guided her work.
As Cirra conducted her live autopsy, she murmured her observations. "There’s something here... a leafy cocoon wrapped around its brain, encasing it completely. It looks like a root system, controlling the nervous system and leeching blood."
Her voice was filled with a mix of fascination and horror. "Its ’roots’ go through the entirety of its circulatory and endocrine systems, yet, when I slice them they react and move more than I expect. This plant is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. How does this work?"
Lassim watched as Cirra continued her examination, her scalpel deftly slicing through the Monkey King’s flesh at various parts and pieces. The scene grew quieter, the atmosphere growing oppressive as the heavy thinking by Cirra seemed to settle over them like a heavy shroud.
Visit freewebnoveℓ.com for the best novel reading exp𝒆rience.
Whatever she was witnessing was not to her liking as the initial optimistic smile or smirk, if you could call it that, changed slowly over time. It turned more and more into a frown as her frustration seemingly grew at whatever it was. Her hands moved with practiced skill, her monocles glowing as she delved deeper into the mystery.
For several minutes, Cirra began to then hop back and forth between the various corpses that littered the village. She studied the relationship and compared the dead monkeys and the dying Monkey King with each other. She tore into the lesser monkey’s brains and bodies, her scalpel revealing the intricate network of roots and tendrils that also connected them.
Each discovery seemed to deepen her doubts about the nature and hypothesized ideas of the plant and its capabilities.
The Monkey King’s convulsions gradually slowed, its energy waning as Cirra continued her meticulous work. The fact that it had survived this long was a testament to the sheer power and vitality that beasts in the Spirit Ascension realm have contained within them.
The green glow in its eyes flickered weakly now, a sign that the creature’s fading life force would soon come to an end. Yet, even still, Lassim stood guard, his halberd ready and his senses alert for any further threats if it should release a last-ditch effort or dying blow in retaliation.
The air was thick with tension, only the occasional rustle of leaves from the bamboo trees shaking in the wind, and the soft sounds of Cirra’s scalpel at work playing in the air.
Lassim waited patiently for Cirra to share her thoughts.