Obsidian Golem Codex!
According to the system's introduction, it was a Legendary Codex obtained by the ancestors of the gargoyle race from an ancient Abyssal Overlord.
Only gargoyle royalty, high nobles, or those who had rendered extraordinary service were ever qualified to receive it!
This was an exclusive secret art, one that fused the gargoyle race's Stoneform Skin Talent with the properties of Abyssal Obsidian Divine Crystals. It was a racial, growth-type skill with an astonishingly high upper limit!
The codex could extract the blood cores of alien races and fuse them into the skin, enhancing petrification hardness and structural strength while randomly granting various alien bloodline traits and elemental resistances!
[Do you wish to spend 1000 bloodstone to learn the introductory level?]
"Yes!"
Raine's expression shifted. He hadn't expected bloodstone to be usable in this way.
[Ding! 1000 bloodstone deducted!]
[Congratulations, Host, you have preliminarily mastered the Legendary-grade secret art — Obsidian Golem Codex!]
In the next instant, a scorching torrent surged along his blood vessels, then flowed in reverse, pouring into the surface of his skin.
"Mm…"
Raine let out a muffled groan and lowered his head to look at the back of his hand.
Beneath the skin, dark-golden patterns spread like living tree roots, slowly branching and intertwining.
The skin that had been torn apart in battle and soaked in blood began to peel away and regenerate at a rate visible to the naked eye.
The newly formed skin carried a dull metallic sheen. It felt hard and icy to the touch, yet it wasn't stiff at all.
He flexed his fingers.
The joints moved as smoothly as ever—but when his fingertips brushed against the ground, they carved a faint white scratch into the stone!
On his exposed arms and neck, dense dark-gold grid-like patterns emerged, as if an ancient and mysterious suit of armor were awakening beneath his flesh.
Raine rolled his shoulders and neck.
A soft crackling echoed from his bones. Beneath his skin, the dark-gold patterns flowed and shifted, like living metal veins.
"Didn't expect a gargoyle prodigy to drop something this good."
A faint smile curved at the corner of Raine's mouth.
"Then… what about the rest of you?"
He slowly straightened his body.
His gaze swept across the six gargoyle prodigies in the air, their faces twisted with shock and fury; across the four high-ranking gargoyle guards behind them, eyes bloodshot with rage; and finally toward the distant Bonebreaker Quin.
Raine grabbed the military uniform that was already soaked through with blood and tore it apart with a savage yank!
Rip—!
The blood-stained fabric shredded, revealing the lean, well-defined chest of a young man, beneath whose skin a faint golden radiance flowed.
He raised Ironstrike, pointing it straight at the six gargoyle prodigies in the sky.
His clear voice rang out across the battlefield.
"Human warrior—Raine!"
"You so-called noble young masters—who among you dares fight me?!"
The words rang like steel striking stone.
The battlefield fell silent in an instant.
Every human soldier who heard that declaration—whether veteran or recruit—felt the flame in their chest ignite in a heartbeat.
A torrent of blood, mixed with grief, pride, and boundless battle intent, surged straight to their heads!
"Fight!!"
"Well said!"
"Slaughter those alien-race bastards!!"
No one knew who roared first.
But in the next moment, like wildfire sweeping across dry plains, countless furious shouts erupted from the human lines, merging into a deafening, earth-shaking roar!
The sagging morale rebounded violently in that instant!
Meanwhile, the six gargoyle prodigies—and the guards behind them—had expressions so ugly they could curdle blood.
Before everyone's eyes, a noble scion had been publicly slain and trampled!
This was a naked desecration of the gargoyle race's honor!
This so-called "trial" had turned into a colossal farce!
"Kill him!"
The leading gargoyle noble let out a low, furious roar.
"At any cost—crush him!"
The six gargoyle prodigies exchanged a glance, leaving only icy killing intent in their eyes.
With a simultaneous beat of their wings, all six transformed into streaks of light and dove toward Raine on the ground.
They intended to tear this human—who had brought disgrace upon the gargoyle race—into pieces!
Raine lifted his head, staring at the six streaks of light plunging down from the sky. There was no fear in his eyes—only battle intent boiling to its very peak.
He knew he had less than an hour.
Not a single second could be wasted.
"Come on!"
The blood qi of Elite Rank 9 erupted at full force. The ground beneath his feet exploded as he leapt upward, surging to a terrifying height and smashing headlong into the gargoyle prodigies' encirclement!
Ironstrike flared with blood-red light, slashing brutally toward a gargoyle prodigy wielding a war spear.
"You're courting death!"
That gargoyle hadn't expected a human to dare fight an aerial battle in such a manner.
Shocked and enraged, the spear in his hands blazed with light as he thrust with pinpoint precision toward the blade.
Boom!
Blade and spear collided, detonating with a thunderous roar.
Violent energy exploded in the air. The gargoyle prodigy let out a muffled grunt and was blasted backward dozens of meters by the recoil.
The moment Raine landed, he leapt again, forcibly pushing through the residual shockwaves!
Ironstrike transformed into an unbroken curtain of blood-red blades, slashing down in a relentless storm!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Caught off guard, the gargoyle prodigy could only block frantically with his spear.
With every collision, a mountain-heavy force surged through the weapon, numbing his arms.
He was driven back again and again, completely suppressed!
"So strong!"
The remaining five gargoyle prodigies on the flanks saw it clearly. The arrogance on their faces vanished, replaced by grave seriousness.
They could clearly feel the weight and ferocity contained within Raine's attacks.
It was a sense of power that felt capable of crushing everything in its path!
"All together! Surround and kill him!"
Without hesitation, five figures closed in on Raine from different directions.
High in the sky, experts like Tetra, Dennis, and Antonio felt their hearts tighten.
They immediately unleashed stronger offensives, trying to force back their opponents so they could go aid Raine.
"Don't come!"
Raine's voice rang out, resolute and unquestionable.
"I can kill all six of them by myself!"
"Please, officers—help me hold back those high-rank trash!"
The killing intent around him was almost tangible.
His sharp gaze swept over the six gargoyle prodigies, then flicked coldly toward the four gargoyle guards in the distance.
He feared none of these six prodigies.
But he knew that if those four Master-rank guards intervened, he would die without a doubt!
Right now, he was only Formal Rank. To temporarily ascend to Master Rank would cost over forty thousand bloodstone!
Unless all these alien races stood still and let him slaughter them, that was completely unrealistic!
Without the slightest hesitation, he once more hurled himself into the six gargoyles' encirclement!
The temporary Elite Rank 9, combined with the powerful physique granted by the introductory Obsidian Golem Codex, temporarily made up for his inability to remain airborne for long periods.
Every step and directional shift relied on brute force—kicking off the air or riding turbulent energy currents.
Though his movements weren't as nimble as the gargoyles' wings, they were faster, more violent, and brimming with a brutal beauty of raw power!
Seven figures clashed violently in the air!
The six gargoyle prodigies coordinated flawlessly. War spears, stone swords, and energy beams struck from all directions toward Raine.
Yet most attacks that landed on the dense layer of blood qi around his body were neutralized or heavily weakened.
Even when an attack barely pierced through the blood-qi defense and struck his flesh, it left only shallow white marks!
Meanwhile, every swing of Raine's blade carried the force to split mountains and cleave stone, forcing the six gargoyles to defend with extreme caution.
In just a brief exchange, cracks began appearing across the stone-like skin of all six gargoyles.
"Wait—something's wrong!"
"What kind of monster is this human soldier?!"