Chapter 273: Endless Life, Corrupted Calamity Soldiers

"Has the devil compromised your World Tree, using your connection to it to prevent you from attacking the World Eater?"

Avia communicated with Sif, an elf on the other side, through the perfect fractal lens above her right eye, which was also augmented by a corresponding fractal spell.

Within its effective range, the perfect fractal spell served as a seamless medium for written communication, projecting the necessary messages directly into their fields of vision.

"Our connection to the World Tree is difficult to articulate, yet it is undeniably real. The devil has exploited this link; we never imagined any entity could directly influence the Tree."

Sif’s words materialized before Avia, revealing the dire straits the elves now faced.

"Can you recover? The World Eater’s strength is surely at the legendary level, and with its immense size and regenerative capabilities, we can only do our best to delay it and keep it from reaching the World Tree."

Avia relayed what they, as outsiders, could do for the elves. Neither Wang Yu nor Avia were the type to act beyond their means; they could only promise their best, though the outcome remained uncertain.

"I can feel the resistance to attacking the World Eater slowly fading. It will take time, but we can recover."

As Sif’s reply reached her, Avia caught Wang Yu’s eye and gave a slight nod.

"Fine, then we fight. These damned devils again—when will these flies ever just quit?"

"Tch, probably only when they’re completely wiped out. Stay safe. I’m going up there to hit it with something heavy; the power of these alchemical machines is truly staggering. I wish I could get my hands on a few more."

After muttering to himself, Wang Yu reminded Avia to stay safe. His battle aura surged, his muscles coiled with explosive power, and he blurred into a phantom, darting at high speed across the rooftops of the elven city.

He charged toward the World Eater, which was busy pressing its charred, severed head—split by divine magic and scorched by electricity—back together, its violent life force rapidly knitting the wounds shut.

The metal constructs and the reassembled shards of the meteorite blade followed in his wake, commanded by the power of the Chariot.

"Mr. Ann, please, knock that thing to the ground! I’m going to hit it with everything these elven alchemical machines have got."

Wang Yu roared his request to the black cat in the distance, who was still pouring out a torrent of fire. His Great Knight physique lent his voice a volume that echoed across nearly half of the elven capital, Lyahaim.

The black cat tilted its head, glancing at Wang Yu as he sprinted across the buildings with the massive constructs trailing behind him. It flicked its tail, and an extraordinarily dense flow of mana began to coalesce within its small feline frame.

"Zzzzt..."

A piercing electrical hum erupted. A massive spatial rift, dozens of times larger than the ones that had previously launched the barrage of weapons, tore open beneath the World Eater. The purple arcs of lightning dancing around its edges signaled the raw power of gravity magic.

A colossal greatsword, crafted from a material that looked less like metal and more like raw stone, emerged from the rift. Its blade, over five meters wide, was grotesquely oversized. Its sheer weight forced Ann to employ gravity magic just to keep it suspended before launching it.

"BOOM!"

The greatsword was fired from the rift. It soared with unstoppable momentum toward the elven buildings beneath the World Eater, intended to smash the creature down from its perch.

"Clack-clack-clack, CRASH!"

It was less of a shot and more of a heave. Due to its gargantuan size, it appeared deceptively "slow" compared to the smaller weapons, but its destructive force was absolute.

As the greatsword swept through, the elven structures collapsed like blocks of wood upon impact. The World Eater plummeted along with the ruins.

Glancing at the debris, Wang Yu noted that the elves had long since evacuated—after all, they were only unable to attack, not unable to move. He accelerated his sprint, leaped into the air with his powerful mechanical constructs, and descended onto the body of the World Eater.

"Gaa-gaa-gaa-gaa!"

After falling for a distance with the collapsing architecture, the World Eater’s limbs began to scramble wildly in the air. Just as it had when it first took flight, it gripped the empty space, forcibly halting its descent.

But faster than it could stabilize, a blinding bolt of lightning descended from the heavens, followed by a meteor hammer hurled from afar, saturated with battle aura. Both slammed into the creature’s midsection, venting their contained power deep into its flesh.

The charged lightning bolt was even more potent than Avia’s first strike. Arcs of electricity danced across the impact site; though no visible damage appeared, the charred shell was being pulverized by the massive current underneath.

The blow from the meteor hammer, thrown by a mid-tier orc Great Knight, was even more direct. The battle aura within it detonated upon impact, sending sharp, crescent-shaped blades of energy slicing in every direction.

The condensed aura possessed unimaginable hardness and destructive power, easily shearing through the World Eater’s carapace and carving into its grotesque flesh. The gaping wound nearly pierced the entire segment.

While this terrifying injury was negligible to the World Eater’s massive bulk, the damage near its head successfully disrupted its attempt to climb the invisible air.

The colossal body crashed heavily onto the ground, bringing the ruined elven buildings down with it.

The earth trembled, the worm’s body carving a deep trench into the soil. Wang Yu landed on its back at that very moment.

"Hum-hum-hum-hum!"

The four metal constructs, commanded by the Chariot’s power, began to vibrate as potent energies accumulated within them.

The World Eater likely could not comprehend Wang Yu’s intent, but that did not stop it from trying to consume the life-rich morsel that had landed on its back.

Long, powerful limbs arched upward to snatch at him, coated in a viscous, yellowish fluid—the manifestation of corruption. If that touched him, Wang Yu knew he would be in for a world of hurt.

So, he simply made sure it wouldn't.

A silver-white blade of light flashed repeatedly in the air, and the limbs reaching for him were severed instantly.

Driven by the Chariot, the meteorite shards were terrifyingly fast and agile. They darted from their stationary position beside Wang Yu, vanishing and reappearing, and the mass of reaching limbs was sliced in two.

Without armor or hardened materials to block them, the blades shaped by Wang Yu’s Chariot power were sharp enough to make any organic structure feel like soft tofu.

"Come on, get a taste of this!"

Wang Yu raised his hands, unleashing the full extent of the Chariot’s power, then slammed them downward.

The Chariot’s force drove the four drill-like metal constructs downward, burying their tips deep into the World Eater’s outer shell.

"Clang, BOOM, THUD!"

The sound of metal locking into place echoed as Wang Yu triggered a component within the constructs. The energy that had been building up inside them detonated.

Fire and shockwaves erupted within the narrow chambers. The released force, compressed and focused through the mechanical structure, was exerted entirely onto the "drill" tips embedded in the creature’s body.

Armor-piercing light—crimson flames—shot from the tops of the constructs. The recoil was perfectly offset by the force applied to the drills, keeping the constructs from being blown away.

The drills, imbued with terrifying kinetic energy, easily pierced through the World Eater’s defenses, driving deep into its body at an angle.

"Zzzzt, BOOM!"

Beyond their armor-piercing function, the drills were themselves bombs filled with the latest alchemical fuel developed by dwarves and gnomes. The yield was absurd for their size, and Wang Yu had just driven four of them into the creature.

He leaped away without hesitation; he had no desire to be blown to bits along with the World Eater.

"Zzzzt, BOOM!"

A violent explosion bloomed behind him and within the creature’s body. The four internal bombs tore the segment of the World Eater to shreds.

Flesh was reduced to dust, and even the corruption-tainted fluid was vaporized by the sheer heat. The shockwave sent Wang Yu, who had already leaped a great distance, tumbling through the air.

Adjusting his posture, he landed on his feet and extended his right hand toward the smoke and fire. Four shadows tore through the haze—the metal constructs, completely unscathed.

"I have to say, the quality of dwarven weaponry is top-notch..."

A smirk touched his lips as he stacked the four constructs. They weren't exactly one-time-use devices; they had three stages. Wang Yu couldn't use the third, but the first two could be triggered repeatedly.

A massive surge of life force swept through the World Eater’s body once more. The floodgates opened wider, and a torrent of life force, like a raging river, poured out—so overwhelming that Wang Yu, standing quite far away, could almost feel the energy waiting to be absorbed.

"Endless life..."

Wang Yu watched grimly as the World Eater began to move again. The severed segment, under the influence of that unreasonable life force, had already been reconnected by the time the smoke cleared. The explosion had been as if it never happened.

His previous estimation—that the outer defenses of Lyahaim could kill this giant worm—was clearly wrong. The regenerative ability it had shown before was likely less than a tenth of its true limit.

The World Eater’s defensive and destructive capabilities are both quite limited, or to put it bluntly, they are pathetically weak compared to its own tier.

Yet, its regenerative ability is so profound that it could almost be called immortal; the near-infinite vitality it has hoarded over these decades

serves as its health bar, leaving Wang Yu at a complete loss as to how to actually kill this thing.

"You're more of an unkillable cockroach than that Source of Life, Elphin!"

Wang Yu let out a low growl, combining the power of his war-chassis with his own strength to hoist the four overlapping metal constructs that had just snapped and morphed into shape.

It was a colossal metal hammer, two or three times taller than Wang Yu himself; pulling the hammer head back to prepare for a swing, Wang Yu flipped a switch on the weapon.

The hammer roared as flames erupted, the magic arrays etched into its surface drawing power from mana crystals, and as the World Eater worm’s massive head rushed toward him, fully restored, Wang Yu swung.

The back of the hammer featured exhaust ports designed to vent the flames of ignited alchemical fuel; all Wang Yu had to do was hold on to the absurdly heavy weapon, leaving the rest to the alchemy.

The hammer gained immense momentum from the blue jet-flame, and under Wang Yu’s precise control, it collided perfectly with the charging head of the World Eater.

"CLANG!"

A strange sound rang out, the result of the magic circuits on the hammer's surface converting all other forms of energy into pure kinetic impact.

Wang Yu didn't know which legendary powerhouse among the elves this hammer was meant for, but he let go the moment he swung it, otherwise, the muscles and bones in his arms would have been pulverized into paste by the recoil.

A visible

shockwave erupted at the point of impact between the hammer and the World Eater’s head, blasting away the surrounding soil, rocks, building ruins, and even Wang Yu himself.

The hammer, which looked like a mere spoon against the World Eater, did not embed itself into the creature’s flesh; instead, the magic arrays released the full force of the impact across the worm’s entire head.

"SQUELCH!"

As he flew backward, Wang Yu heard the sound of a rotten watermelon shattering; he saw the World Eater’s head pulverized by the hammer, the foremost segment exploding into a torrential rain of foul, bloody gore.

"That power... damn it, is this never going to end?"

He had just intended to marvel at the hammer's strength, but the next moment, his words turned into a curse.

A wave of vitality surged through the surroundings, and before his eyes, the mangled worm head began to regenerate, emerging unscathed from the ragged stump within ten seconds.

This grotesque recovery nearly made Wang Yu vomit; at this rate, unless he used a planet-crushing meteor strike to turn the worm to ash in one go, he had no idea how to finish it.

The worm’s next move made Wang Yu’s face go dark; it changed direction, ignoring Wang Yu, Ann, and the other races, and charged straight toward the Tree of Life.

Wang Yu didn't know what it intended, but his intuition screamed that it was nothing good.

In the void, the devil laughed, whispering to the World Eater:

"Stop playing with these insects; don't forget your purpose. Corrupt the Tree of Life, and let the corrupted tree

destroy Ironforge. That way, two confused races will tear each other apart."

"Besides, once you have that thing, do you really think you'll struggle to kill these pests with your own pathetic destructive power?"

Whether the World Eater understood the devil's words was unclear, but under the influence of the devil's power, it charged recklessly toward the Tree of Life.

"Stop it!"

Wang Yu roared.

Attacks from the surrounding races rained down upon the World Eater without a moment’s pause.

High-energy lightning bolts from the sky, relentless slashes of battle-aura, bundles of alchemical bombs triggering chain explosions, torrents of mana melting the worm’s flesh at high speed...

Every race was unleashing their maximum destructive power; the combined force was indeed staggering, enough that even an average legendary being could not withstand such a bombardment.

In truth, the World Eater couldn't withstand it either; its weakly defended body was melting away, shell and flesh alike, and the entire worm shrank in size within seconds as it pushed forward.

Yet, it pressed on regardless, vitality gushing out as if it were worthless; the very ground that should have been blighted by its corruption began to sprout plants due to the excess life force leaking from its wounds.

The vitality accumulated over decades was simply too vast; the attackers could only watch as the World Eater endured the onslaught, repairing its holes faster than they could be torn open.

Relying on its self-healing ability and massive frame as a form of "ultimate defense," the World Eater reached the base of the Tree of Life.

"Damn it, what is this thing trying to do..."

Watching the World Eater rear up and sink its limbs into the Tree of Life, a terrible premonition filled Wang Yu’s heart.

"CREAK!"

The World Eater’s limbs shifted across its body, fusing together with a sickening sound of tearing flesh to form one exceptionally thick arm.

Then, the World Eater plunged this arm into the Tree of Life, piercing its wooden shell, and with the "Mother" offering no resistance, it reached deep inside, groping for something.

"THUMP!"

The massive arm grasped its prize and yanked it violently from the heart of the Tree of Life—a colossal spear, wooden in structure, adorned with verdant leaves and a spiral shaft of exquisite beauty: the Source Saint Spear, Casimir.

But now, this elven holy relic was gripped in the hand of the World Eater, the avatar of corruption.

Yellow, viscous liquid crawled along the worm’s arm and clung to the surface of the Source Saint Spear, Casimir, as the devil's corruption mixed with the World Eater’s own to infect the relic.

The verdant leaves withered, the wooden structure blackened and flaked away, revealing disgusting, rotting flesh; under the erosion of corruption, the mindless holy spear was forcibly twisted.

At this moment, this hideous, corrupted spear held by the World Eater should no longer be called a holy spear, but rather...

The Scourge of Corruption.

The World Eater raised the Scourge of Corruption, aiming the tip at the elven capital of Lyriaheim, and poured endless vitality into it.

Even after being corrupted, the spear retained one of its original traits: releasing its power required a massive amount of life force, and as it happened, the World Eater had more than enough to spare.

"Get out of the way!"

Wang Yu roared a warning to everyone.

The attack the devil spoke of—one capable of compensating for the World Eater’s embarrassing lack of destructive power—was unleashed from the Scourge of Corruption; a beam of crimson light swept across the elven capital of Lyriaheim, obliterating everything it touched.

[Extra chapter, a fierce extra chapter, don't stop, keep adding more!]