Chapter 277: Purging, Blood Pool

An endless torrent of vitality surged frantically from the Banner of Triumph, pouring directly into Wang Yu’s body.

Even though the vitality fed back by the banner was merely a tenth of its total capacity, the sheer magnitude of the base amount rendered the resulting influx unimaginably vast.

The deluge of life force rushed into Wang Yu’s frame, instantly purging the fatigue—slight as it had been—accumulated during the recent battle, before drilling deeper into the recesses of his anatomy.

Pure vitality is easily absorbed by the flesh, offering immense benefits to any creature other than the undead or elemental beings; in most cases, the more, the better.

Yet, at this moment, there was simply too much—so much that if Wang Yu’s Great Knight physique continued to accept it, disaster would surely follow.

The vitality burrowed into his bones, muscles, skin, and every corner of his body capable of bearing it, filling every available space to the brim.

In the process, impurities were squeezed out by the frenzied influx, expelled from his pores; the energy was so dense that, once it crossed a certain threshold, it began to affect physical matter.

At first, a refreshing sensation washed over Wang Yu’s senses—the feeling of being cleansed by pure, harmless energy was exquisite, like diving into a cool river on a sweltering summer day while drenched in sticky, foul sweat, washing away the grime and leaving one feeling inexplicably clear.

But soon, this refreshing sensation began to curdle into the agony of distension.

A massive volume of vitality gathered and compressed within Wang Yu’s relatively small body, and as the concentration rose, the intangible life force began to liquefy, mirroring the essence found within the Tree of Life.

Clear, faintly green droplets rapidly pooled inside him, and his body, already at its limit, could no longer forcibly contain these "blessings."

"As I thought. It’s a good thing I prepared in advance, otherwise, I could never contain such an overwhelming amount of vitality. Of everyone present, the only one I know capable of bearing this level of life force is the Professor."

"Pfft!"

The Chariot Force drove the Broken Meteorite Blade through his own wrists and neck without hesitation, severing his arteries. Crimson blood erupted like a fountain, forming a scarlet creek across the back of the World Eater beneath him within seconds.

Wang Yu, spurting blood wildly, looked terrifying, his entire form stained red, the heavy scent of iron piercing the putrid air and spreading outward.

However, one of the things Wang Yu feared least, thanks to the Blood-Stained Gale Knight’s secret arts, was blood loss; forcing his blood out was merely a means to vent the excess vitality.

"Hah, that’s better..."

He muttered, though he looked anything but comfortable.

By releasing the vitality-saturated blood and consuming the endless stream of life force to regenerate it—only for the new blood to be filled and expelled in a continuous cycle—he achieved a relative equilibrium with the incoming torrent.

His body still felt as though it might burst, but at least he wouldn't explode; moreover, the sensation of tearing was gradually subsiding, as if his physique were slowly adapting to absorb and contain more.

But this was no time for reflection. Wang Yu, looking like a human fountain, began to run, sprinting up the length of the World Eater’s body. The blood he had sprayed—and continued to spray—did not go to waste, surging behind him as he charged.

His target was the Corrupted Calamity Weapon held in the World Eater’s limb. After all, the creature was not yet truly dead; it had merely lost its absurd, near-immortal regenerative ability.

With the Iron King incapacitated and the other alien races having retreated, the only way to quickly finish off this giant worm was the strike of that corrupted holy spear.

Of course, igniting the Cursed Flame would also work, as the vitality from the Banner of Triumph was now "truly Wang Yu’s." It might even be enough to set the Tree of Life itself ablaze, but Wang Yu would be reduced to ash long before he could be saved.

"Rumble!"

As Wang Yu sprinted along the World Eater’s body, trailing blood, the creature—which had stalled when its source of vitality was severed—finally began to stir. Its limbs clawed at the air, struggling to lift its massive bulk from the ground using intangible force.

A profound sense of emptiness flooded the World Eater’s consciousness; the hollow, agonizing sensation of extreme hunger was something it had never experienced before.

Previously, it had merely possessed an infinite craving for vitality; now, it felt the genuine terror of encroaching death. The desire for life itself, for survival, had eclipsed its hunger for energy.

Its mind could hold nothing else. It did not even notice Wang Yu sprinting across its back with a growing sea of blood, nor did it perceive Sieg, who had leapt onto its body from the tail.

This "rebellious child" attempting to kill its mother had only one thought: return to the Tree of Life, return to "Mother." Her doting love would surely grant it the vitality she held—a pittance compared to its own needs. If it could only reach her, it could live.

"Boom!"

Blinding lightning descended from the heavens, striking the World Eater’s head and causing its flying, worm-like body to plummet in mid-air. Avia’s spells were never late.

The staggering power of the Tier 5 spell was distributed across the World Eater’s massive frame. Deprived of its vitality source, the creature relied on its remaining reserves to endure the strike, refusing to fall to the ground.

The World Eater was not far from the Tree of Life, and with the added momentum of its massive shell, it would soon make contact.

The worm’s giant eye stared fixedly at the gaping hole it had torn into the Tree of Life to extract the holy spear. The aura leaking from within was the abundant vitality that could save it.

It reached out a limb toward the hole; if it could spread the corruption inside, it would be saved!

"Your mother might spoil you, but I certainly won't. Since she dotes on a disgusting thing like you, I'll let someone else teach you a lesson."

Wang Yu’s indifferent words echoed, though they were not meant for the World Eater, so it mattered little whether the giant worm understood.

Just as its limb was about to touch the Tree of Life, Wang Yu—the human fountain spurting blood—reached the World Eater’s head. Arriving with him was the sea of blood, saturated with vitality and dragged along by the Blood-Stained Gale Knight’s secret art.

"Splash! Boom!"

A massive palm of blood coalesced, wedging itself between the World Eater and the Tree of Life. This sea of blood, more abundant than ever before, formed the most powerful attack Wang Yu had ever executed with his secret art.

The giant hand of blood slammed into the World Eater, halting its momentum in mid-air, before its five fingers closed, crushing the segment of the worm’s body where its head resided, exerting immense force upon its shell.

In truth, Wang Yu had never attempted to drive so much blood with his secret art, as he had never possessed such a surplus of vitality to forge it. But quantity aside, the essence remained the same; the knight’s art cared not for the volume—it treated all blood as one.

His battle aura was being consumed at a frantic pace. The giant hand of blood was terrifyingly strong, but the drain on his aura was equally unreasonable.

Ten seconds. That was all the time he had before his aura was exhausted—and that was only with the vitality influx forcibly accelerating his aura regeneration. Under normal conditions, he wouldn't have lasted a second.

Without wasting extra aura, Wang Yu accelerated, gripping the Broken Meteorite Blade with both hands. He leapt into the air, aimed at the limb holding the Corrupted Calamity Weapon, and brought the sharp blade down in a fierce strike.

"Pfft..."

Without even a loud sound, the limb holding the weapon was severed by the absurdly sharp and durable blade. The Corrupted Calamity Weapon slipped from the World Eater’s grasp and plummeted.

"Professor, the rest is up to you!"

Using his final three seconds of maintenance, Wang Yu pulled the giant blood hand over, snatched the falling Corrupted Calamity Weapon, and hurled the massive, corrupted holy spear high above the World Eater.

There, Sieg was already prepared. Purple arcs of electricity, representing gravity magic, danced around her humanoid shell, fueled by the magic circuits carved into her dragon form. She pushed her draconic power to the absolute limit—stopping just short of the threshold that would alert "Him."

As Wang Yu’s aura ran dry, the giant blood hand dissolved into ordinary rain, falling from the sky as Wang Yu himself began to plummet.

"Leave it to me!"

"Boom!"

Sieg’s response arrived simultaneously with a violent gust of wind beside Wang Yu. The raging gale caught him, launching him upward; the girl’s timely long-range spell blew Wang Yu back onto the World Eater’s body, completing the penultimate step of their coordination.

"Bang!"

The massive Corrupted Calamity Weapon fell, caught by the humanoid Professor. Gravity magic combined with Sieg’s monstrous physical strength allowed her to forcibly bear the weight of the oversized weapon.

"Come!"

Back on the World Eater’s body, Wang Yu pressed his hand against Sieg’s back. The Chariot Force extended, conducting the things that were "truly Wang Yu’s" and injecting them into her.

Endless vitality flowed along the bridge established by the Chariot Force, pouring into Sieg in a single, massive surge.

The vitality that was overwhelming for Wang Yu was, in truth, difficult for Sieg’s humanoid form to bear as well. But the space within her that housed her dragon form—a space similar to where the World Eater stored its vitality—allowed her to withstand far more than anyone else present.

The life force poured like the sea into that space only Sieg could accurately perceive, absorbed by her dragon form. The feeling of being filled with vitality brought her an inexplicable sense of relief; it had been a long time since she had felt this way.

Even the dragon form could not contain so much, and the excess vitality overflowed within that space, rippling like a river.

Sensing that space, Sieg exerted her full power, channeling the overflowing vitality and pouring it, without pause, into the Corrupted Calamity Weapon she held.

Void of any corrupting influence, the purest essence of life washed over the desecrated holy spear. The Corrupted Calamity gradually succumbed to this ocean of pristine vitality; the foul accretions upon its surface flaked and shattered, revealing the clean, wooden structure beneath, which pulsed with a warm, golden luminescence under the infusion of life force.

The Corrupted Calamity had reverted to the holy spear, Casimir. Held firmly in Sieg’s grip, it drank deep of the vast vitality, gathering strength for a strike of unparalleled power—a blow sufficient to utterly annihilate the World Eater.

Specks of light converged at the spear’s tip, and streams of life force manifested as emerald ribbons, coiling around the shaft.

Surrounding it was a sense of holiness, might, and purity; this was the true form the holy spear was always meant to possess.

A moment later, the charge was complete. A brilliant golden radiance, distinct from the crimson beam of the Corrupted Calamity, bloomed at the spearhead.

"Whoosh!"

Positioned directly against the World Eater’s form, the distance between the spear and the beast was effectively zero, perhaps even negative, as every ounce of power was poured without reservation into the worm’s wretched body.

The terrifying destructive force tore through the worm’s shell, rupturing the putrid, reeking flesh and spilling forth from the bursting wounds.

In an instant, the World Eater was shredded by the power erupting from within. Golden light lingered amidst the pulverized flesh, and while this holy, life-giving radiance poured its full fury into the beast, it did not harm Sieg or Wang Yu in the slightest.

The gargantuan worm that Wang Yu had dubbed the World Eater was now utterly destroyed, leaving not even a scrap behind. As for resurrection, without that source of vitality, it was simply impossible.

Sieg and Wang Yu began to plummet. Evia watched the two high-five in mid-air and smiled, gathering her magic to summon a gale to catch them. Yet, slightly faster than her, the scarred World Tree intervened.

A branch of the World Tree, as yet untouched by the aftermath of battle or corruption, shifted to catch the falling Wang Yu, Sieg, and the holy spear, Casimir.

"It seems our mother has awakened. There is one final step to complete: returning this life force that rightfully belongs to her."

Sieg observed the stirring World Tree and understood that it had cast off the devilish distortion. Devils could never truly control the World Tree; their power could, at most, temporarily twist this inherently formidable titan.

"True enough. That makes the final task much simpler. We would have otherwise needed the Elves to guide us in, but this saves us the trouble."

Wang Yu nodded. Indeed, the awakening of the World Tree spared them much complication.

The massive branch carried them toward the gaping hole the World Eater had torn into the trunk; it seemed the World Tree understood their intentions.

Through the breach, Wang Yu and Sieg stepped into the interior, and the holy spear was soon drawn in after them by the tree itself.

"Is this the Source Pool that Master Moira mentioned?"

Wang Yu surveyed the space, a sanctuary accessible only to the Elder Elves, sensing the vitality that had once seemed abundant to him but now felt rather ordinary.

Finally, he fixed his gaze upon the clear, pale green pool—liquefied life force, surely the very thing the World Eater had been driven mad to reach.

"To think I would have the chance to enter the heart of the World Tree. For a scholar, this is an opportunity beyond measure. But first, let us attend to the most important matter: returning this remaining vitality to the tree."

Sieg, too, observed the surroundings, marveling at the fortune of a scholar witnessing such a rare environment, though he did not neglect their duty.

With the aid of vines that grew and spread autonomously within the chamber, the holy spear, Casimir, was dragged and submerged into the Source Pool, returning to its rightful place. Yet, it remained dim and weak, a testament to the dire depletion of the World Tree’s essence.

"Come now, this was always meant to be yours."

Sieg placed his palm upon the end of Casimir, channeling the remainder of the life force from the space housing his dragon body into the spear. This was not to unleash an attack, but to use the spear as a conduit to restore the weakened, wounded tree.

"Cling-clang..."

Green motes of light drifted through the chamber, and a faint, melodious sound echoed in their ears, as if someone were singing a song of joy.

Under the influx of vitality, the spear gradually brightened, signaling the tree’s recovery. The World Tree’s gratitude and joy flowed through the spear to Sieg, causing the corner of his mouth to curl upward.

Outside, the pits in the trunk caused by corruption slowly mended under the nourishment of life, and the charred scars left by the Corrupted Calamity, along with the breach where the spear had been torn out, sealed and restored themselves.

As the World Tree recovered from the devil’s distortion, the Elves were freed from their malaise. Watching the colossal tree at the center of the ruined Elven capital, Liahim, slowly regain its former vitality, tears of inexplicable emotion welled up and spilled over.

As for Wang Yu, who remained inside with Sieg, the World Tree likely attempted to convey its gratitude to him as well. Alas, due to his own nature, he felt nothing of the sort. His attention was not on the tree, but on the new sensation stirring within his own body.

Wang Yu had obtained 10% of the life force accumulated over decades through the Banner of Triumph. He had spent less than 1% on blood regeneration and transferred 8% to Sieg. After using the holy spear, Sieg had returned about 7% to the World Tree to facilitate its recovery.

Somewhere in this exchange, about 1% of the life force had vanished within Wang Yu. In truth, this energy had vanished the moment he felt the sensation of fullness in his body begin to subside.

His physique had undergone a change due to this overwhelming vitality, giving rise to something entirely new and unprecedented—a new organ, as it were.

Wang Yu could feel a space carved out near his abdomen, a void similar to the one where the World Eater stored its life force, or where Sieg kept his dragon body.

Within that space, it was not life force that surged, but a roiling, restless pool of blood.

A Blood Pool...

"Is it over? Perhaps it is? (Laughs) But in any case, the bonus chapters will not stop! Half a month, half a month—at least another half month of bonus chapters!"